Loaded Clips and Neon Lights
by TheHappyDrunk
Summary: Hole in his head and without memory the courier finds out who he is, and what ends he'll go to trying to find his murderer. The ghost of the Mojave finds companions along the way, trying to carve out their legacy in the harsh wasteland
1. Chapter 1

**Tried writing an alternative to the main quest in fallout and it sucked outloud. So now I'm going to write a courier character instead and see how people like it.**

***Disclaimer* I do not own fallout or any of the characters, I am just writing this for fun**

**Reviews are helpful, positive or negative. For the first couple of chapters I might continue based on the reviews to see if my story isn't a failure pile, but after awhile I will try to make consistent updates. If you have a question feel free to ask, I'll try to get to them. Enjoy**

**Chapter One: Headache**

Doc Mitchell was wondering if the young adult unconscious on his couch was ever going to wake up. It was two days now and the doctor thought that there was a slim chance that the dirt covered lump he operated on survived the head trauma. There was a heartbeat, but he hadn't heard of anything as strange as a securitron digging someone out of their grave, let along someone who was partially alive.

Doc had watched over his patient all night, and needed coffee to keep himself awake any longer. The chair creaked causing the man's eyes fluttered, and his face immediately cringed. The mixture of an extremely bright room and a hole in your skull will do that to most people.

"My word", Mitchell said under his breath. "He actually woke up"

The young man squirmed a bit before trying to get off the couch, and Doc Mitchell pushed him back. "Woah there son, easy does it" Mitchell told him.

The man weakly tried to push away the doctor's hand and grumbled, "Where the hell am I?"

"You're in Goodsprings" Doc answered. "More specifically in my house"

The man rubbed his face and when his hand brushed by his head wound he winced and let out an, "OW!". He lightly patted the wound and asked, "What happened?"

Doc sighed and said, "I was hoping you could tell me. Unfortunately you recieved some trauma to the front part of your brain, and I'm not expecting a lot" The doc shifted in his chair a bit and asked, "Do you remember your name at least?"

The young man buried his face in his hands. The mere attempted at thinking shot pain across his skull, but after a bit his head snapped up. "O shit, I remember" He groaned.

Doc asked, "Would you like to tell me?"

The man looked away with an annoyed look on his face and he told Doc, "Just call me Law"

"Law? Can't say thats the name I would have given ya, but if thats your name then alright" Doc said. He continued with, "So where'd you came from Law?"

Law still had a pained look on his face and he replied, "Uhhh I don't really know I don't think". His expression got worse and he said, "I might have..."

"Hey hey take it easy Law" Doc warned. "Just lay down and relax, you're over-exerting yourself"

Law groaned as he rested his head on the arm of the couch while Doc got up and brought him some water. When Doc returned, Law was fast asleep on his couch. Doc smirked and decided to take a nap himself, relieved that Law had finally woken up.

Law woke up again, the pain in his head had not completely subsided, but it was bearable. He tried standing up and stumbled a bit on his first steps. His vision went white momentarily but he regained it and walked forward. He looked around the house and saw various junk like ruined books and a toy car. He entered another room to find some curtains and a doctor's table.

Law approached the table and saw a metallic pan next to it. Inside there was dried blood and very small pieces of debris. Law picked up one of the pieces with his index finger and thumb, observing it carefully. Law turned his head and saw his reflection in a mirror.

Law found what looked like a small ant hill on the upper right side of his forehead. There was a cross-like cut on the wound as well, but not as deep. He hurried around the house and found the doctor asleep on his bed.

He lightly shook his shoulder and said, "Doc, wake up...wake up"

Mitchell woke up confused and asked, "What, What's wrong?"

Law pointed to his scar with a panicked look on his face and asked, "What the hell is this shit?"

Doc Mitchell sat up on his bed and said, "When you were brought to me you had a bullet in your head. I did my best on the surgery, and managed to remove all of the bullet fragments". He paused and said, "Put I did have to open you up a little to get to them"

This made sense to Law now, the cross was where the doctor opened him up. "WAIT" James yelled. "I WAS SHOT?"

Doc grimaced and said, "Yes, two days ago a securitron brought you to my doorsteps saying you were up at the Goodsprings Cemetary. You had a bullet lodged in your skull but you were alive somehow, so I operated on you"

Law looked at Doc suspiciously and asked, "You expect me to believe that I was shot in the head, buried, and lived through it?"

Doc Mitchell asked, "Well you're standing right in front of me aren't ya?". Doc stood up and said, "Look, that's the story. I can't explain it other than either I'm the greatest doctor in the Mojave, or you are one tough s.o.b"

Mitchell walked over, grabbed a glass of water and some pills and said, "Regardless, you should take these"

Law took them and eyed over the blue dusty pills. He popped them into his mouth and drank the glass of water. Doc lead Law back to the couch and sat him down.

"Right now we should just focus on what you can remember" Mitchell said as he grabbed a clipboard. "Can you tell me anything else that you know about yourself?"

Law's eyes shot around while he tried to think past his initial wake up. "Something was taken from me, I was here because I had something, but it was taken"

"Good that's good" Mitchell said.

Law looked at him confused and asked, "How is that good?"

"The front part of your brain is the cerebrum, it controls your senses and memory" Mitchell explained. "So anything you remember is a sign that your brain is starting to function properly"

"Not proper enough, I can't remember anything other than that" Law admitted.

Mitchell scribbled some notes on his clipboard and said, "Well we can help get your brain going with some association work. I am going to say some words and I want you to say whatever comes into your mind"

Law nodded and Doc said, "Dog"

"Train"

"House"

"Shelter"

"Night"

"Silence"

"Bandit"

"Break"

"Light"

"Flash"

"Life"

"Hope"

"Death"

"Cause"

Doc Mitchell wrote down every response and then said, "I am going to say a couple of phrases and I want you to respond with, strongly agree, agree, no opinion, disagree, and strongly disagree"

"If you think it will help" James replied and Doc Mitchell started.

"Conflict just ain't in my nature"

"Disagree"

"I like to rely on others for help"

"Agree"

"I'm slow to imbrace new ideas"

"No opinion"

"I charge in head for to deal with problems"

"Disagree"

"I'm always trying to be the center of attention"

"Strongly disagree"

Mitchell wrote Law's answers down and brought out some pictures.

"This is the Rorschac Test" Doc explained, "Tell me what you see"

Doc held up a series of pictures and Law let him know what he saw. Mitchell wrote down his answers and asked, "Don't strain yourself, but see if you can remember anything else about yourself, or how you got shot"

Law thought hard but his mind only could go back to when he woke up on the couch. Law let out a frustrated sigh and said, "It's no use"

Doc set down his clipboard and said, "Will we shouldn't stress you out in the process, but in the mean time we should get you something to eat"

Law liked the sound of this, he hadn't realized it until Doc brought it up, but he was extremely hungry. He got up and was about to ask where they were going to get food, but then he looked himself over.

"Yeah I thought you'd notice, you don't have the proper clothing to make an appearance" Mitchell said. He disappeared for a moment and came back with a blue jumpsuit. There was a yellow '21' on the back and Mitchell threw the suit at Law.

"This is my old vault 21 jumpsuit, should fit you but it might be a little tight" Mitchell told him.

Law looked over the dirty suit with a disgusted look on his face. "Not to sound ungrateful...but I might try to look for some new clothes pretty soon" Law told him.

"I don't care, I just gave you the suit so you didn't have to go into town half naked" Doc replied.

Doc Mitchell started to walk towards the door while Law followed, slipping himself into the suit. Doc opened the door and Law shielded his eyes from the sun. Law stepped out and saw a small town complete with ruined houses, crops, and a large building in the center. Law followed Doc to the building, occasionally kicking away a tumbleweed that drifted by.

"Hey Pete" Mitchell said to the tanned old man sitting on the chair.

"Doc" was Pete's reply with a nod. "Who is this young man you are with?"

Law outstretched his hand before Mitchell responded and replied, "Law"

"Nice to meet you Law" Pete said with a handshake. "Hey Doc, what's the story with that robot thats been hanging out around town the last couple of days?" Pete rasped.

Doc looked over to where Pete was looking then back to Law and said, "That's the robot that dug you out of the grave ya know"

Law wasted no time to make his way towards the blue robot on one wheel. It had a large upper body that slimmed down towards the bottom, with a moniter in the middle. There was a cowboy face on the screen and it greeted Law with, "Howdy pardner!"

"I hear you were the one that dug me out of the grave...thank you" Law said.

"Oh ain't no problem, you were lookin' rough but I thought you could use some help" was the robot's reply.

James paused a bit, taking in all of the robot's features and finally asked, "What are you?"

"Name's Victor, I'm a securitron for Mr. House." He replied casually.

Law had no idea what a securitron was, nor Mr. House. His most important question had to be, "Who shot me?"

"Ah you must be talkin' about fancy britches" Victor answered.

Law had little patience for the machine, his wound was starting to hurt and he didn't care for the robot's way of speech. "Skip it robot, tell me what you know about the man who shot me" Law snapped.

"Easy pardner, Fany britches had on his fancy checkered jacket and men with him" Victor replied.

Law's eyes darted back and forth when Victor told him about the man's jacket. A vision of a dark haired man with a checkered coat pulled out a gun, saying something that law couldn't remember.

"You alright" Law heard Mitchell ask.

"Yeah, just remembered the face of the guy who shot me" Law told him. Law turned back to Victor and said, "Thanks robot, I'll see you around"

Law started to walk back over to the wooden building and Doc asked, "Wait, so what do you remember?"

Law's face had a stoney expression as he said, "The man had dark hair and a checkered coat...and he was with friends"

Doc decided not to press the subject as they were entering the building, which after some looking around Law recognized as a bar.

A low growl caught Law's attention, his body and fists tensed up ready for whatever it was.

"Easy Cheyenne" a voice said. Law looked over to see a woman with a rifle on her back and black clothes, exposing her mid-drift. "Don't worry, she's harmless just doesn't..." she trailed as she noticed Law's face. He had sharp, handsome features and his brown hair faded at the sides but was slightly longer and more messy on top. His hair partially covered his wound, but it was still slightly noticeable.

Her eyes wandered down to his body, and while she didn't care for his jumpsuit she noticed he was about six foot three inches and was decently built.

The woman continued, "she doesn't like strangers"

Law knelt down on one knee and kept his back straight. He calmly looked the dog in the eyes, then looked away. After a couple of moments, Cheyenne came up to Law and lied down in front of him. He pet the top of her head, stood up and said to Sunny, "It's no problem"

"Wow, Cheyenne doesn't normally get used to people that quickly" Sunny said with surprise. "How'd you do that?

"Yeah I'd like to know too" Mitchell added with a perplexed look on his face.

"Your guess would be as good as mine" Law said with a shrug.

Sunny was confused so Mitchell said to her, "Sunny meet Law, the victim of a gunshot wound and the resulting amnesia from it"

Sunny brushed back some lose strands of hair before she outstretched her hand and nervously said, "Hi, I'm Sunny"

James firmly gripped her hand with a small smile and said, "I'm Law"

Law had noticed Sunny as well, she had red hair that was in a pony tail and was the average height for a woman. Law could tell she was fit, and not just from her sexily toned stomach. Her clothes had complimented her nicely, accentuating her perky breasts and armoring her shoulders.

Sunny shifted a bit but then asked, "So what did you to come in for?"

"We both need something to eat desperately, and I thought maybe you could show him some stuff that'll help him out in the mojave" Mitchell explained.

Sunny tried to suppress a smile and said, "Yeah I could probably do that"

Mitchell gave her a disapproving look and said, "Like what plants can help you survive and what animals are out there"

Sunny gave Mitchell and innocent look and said, "Yeah of course"

Mitchell rolled his eyes, then he and Law made there way to the bar and sat down. A  
middle-age woman came up and asked, "Hey Doc, what can I get you?"

"I'll have some corn and get some mole rat meat for my friend" Doc replied.

"Hey friend, what's your name" Trudy asked Law.

"Law" he replied.

Trudy came back with some food and Law bit into the slab of meat. Trudy eye'd him over and she said, "You must be the guy that Doc told me he was working on". Law was furiously chewing the mole rat meat, but nodded in confirmation.

"Sorry you had to come to Good Springs this way. It's amazing though that you're alive" Trudy commented. "Any idea how you got into the ground like that?"

Law swallowed then said, "From what I remember, a man in a checkered suit shot me...but not before taking something from me"

Trudy looked over to some seats and said, "That asshole came in here a couple of days ago with some Khans and acted like he owned the place"

"Any idea where he was headed?" James said with some fervor in his voice.

"I over heard him saying something about Primm" Trudy told him.

Law stood up and asked, "Where's Primm?"

"Uh, its..um it's a couple miles east of here" Trudy stammered.

Law turned around but clutched his head in discomfort. His knees buckled a little bit and Doc grabbed his shoulder, shoving Law back to his seat.

"What do you think you'll do, just go to Primm with out food, water or a gun and confront the man who shot you?" Mitchell asked with obvious sarcasm.

Law knew Mitchell was right, not only did his wound still bother him but all he had were someone else's clothes on his back.

Law didn't say anything so Mitchell said, "Just stay here for another day or two and we'll see how you're doing"

Law grunted and continued to eat his meal. He paused for a bit and asked, "Who are Khans?"

Mitchell tapped on his glass and said, "A tough group of tribals from red rock canyon. They are mostly drug pushers and thugs, but they are great at what they do"

Law finished his food and Sunny approached him. "So would you like to follow me around back and get some shooting practice?" She asked.

Law smirked and asked, "Is that what they call it in Good Springs?"

Sunny's face got a bit red and she said, "Just come on and follow me"

Law did what he was told and they stepped out of the back door of the bar. Law saw that there were bottles set up on a rickety looking stand. Sunny took the rifle off of her back and started loading rounds into it.

She handed Law the rifle and said, "Seeing that you have amnesia, I can't assume you know how to handle a gun. What you have in your hand is a lever action .22 rifle."

Law eyed the gun over and noticed that it was in pretty decent condition. "You'll notice the iron sight is up top, line it up with one of the bottles and pull the trigger"

Law lifted the gun up and got the sights to eye level. He couldn't keep the gun completely still, put he waited until the sights line up with the bottle.

_'Pop'_

_'Ke-chic'_

_'Pop'_

_'Ke-chic'_

_'Pop'_

_'Ke-chic'_

Law lowered the gun and saw that he shattered two bottles and grazed another.

"You picked that up pretty well" Sunny said surprised. "Let me go inside and get another rifle for you, you're going to help me hunt geckos"

Sunny fetched a rifle that she gave to Law while she took her own back. Law followed Sunny until she stopped and hunkered down. "Ok, the geckos are up there. They haven't noticed as yet so line up your shot and take it" Sunny whispered.

Law nodded and slinked around the rock wall that they were at. He peered down to a spot that had a couple of pipes and saw purple creatures roaming around. He only saw two so he put his sights on the gecko to the left.

He held his breathe and pulled the trigger, shortly after seeing a chunk of the gecko's neck fly off as it spun around. The other gecko whipped it's head around and started rushing towards Law. Before he knew it two other geckos came into view, all three making there way towards him. Law inexplicably sat there while they made their rush, and was brought back to reality as he heard a shot ring out behind him.

Law aimed again and his next shot found itself in one of the gecko's legs. It tumbled before it came to a stop and Law saw the last gecko slump over with Sunny's last shot. Law stood up and took a couple steps towards the sprayled out gecko bodies. Law saw the gecko that he had shot in the leg, and with a twinge of sympathy he put another bullet in it's head.

Sunny didn't feel like commenting on the mercy of it, all she said was, "Come on, help me get these bodies back to the bar"

Law didn't understand why, but he heaved a gecko over each shoulder and they made they're way back to the bar. They got inside and dropped the geckos near the kitchen, but Law heard some talking in the bar.

He walked out to see Mitchell with his head resting on his hand and a defeated look on his face. There was also a black man with a blue shirt and bullet proof vest on talking to Trudy.

"I know you're hiding that scumbag Ringo, Trudy" the man told her. He pointed his finger at her and threatened, "If you continue to hide him I don't know what will happen to this town"

Trudy just looked at him with a lazy expression and said, "I don't know what you're talking about. Now if you're done making threats." She motioned to the door, "You're scaring the customers"

The man spit on the floor and turned to make his way out but ran into Law. After regaining his balance he snarled, "Get tha fuck out of my way"

Law scrunched his face a bit and asked, "Who...the fuck...are you?"

The man was taken aback by this question but he agressively said, "Joe Cobb, the guy that's going to split you in half if you don't get out of my way"

Joe got into Law's face and Sunny cried out, "Why don't you just get out of here Joe?"

Not breaking eye contact Joe pushed pass Law and left the bar, leaving an uncomfortable silence.

"What was that guy's problem?" Law asked casually.

Trudy sighed and said, "He leads a group of Powder Gangers that have a beef with Ringo. I don't know what it is but Ringo came here a couple days ago looking beat up and distraught, so we hid him"

"And what are Powder Gangers?" Law asked.

"Well when the NCR came to the Mojave, they wanted to build a railroad. So they brought over a bunch of convicts to make them do supervised labor. Turns out letting convicts work with explosives was a bad idea, and there was a jail break two weeks ago", Trudy explained.

Based on what Law heard he had a lot more questions, but all his patience would allow him to say was, "Sounds like this Ringo guy needs some help"

Trudy dropped a key on the counter and said, "Will if you want to talk to him go ahead. He is holed up in the gas station by Doc's house."

Law dragged the key off the counter and put it into one of the pockets in his jumpsuit. He was still annoyed that he had to wear it, so as soon as he was done talking to this Ringo guy he was off to find some new clothes.

Law thanked Doc for the food and told him that he'd be back later. Law left and quickly spotted the gas station, which was pretty hard to miss. He hiked up the hill and turned the door handle with no luck. He took out the key and unlocked the door, opening it slowly. When Law got inside he was greeted by a man with a gun pointed straight at him.

"Stop right there or I fill you full of bullets" the man warned.

"Then aim straight" Law said confidently.

There was a silence before the man pulled his gun back and said, "Sorry, just been high strung lately"

"So I've heard, you must be Ringo" Law said.

"Yes I am, and you are?" Ringo asked.

"Law, newcomer into this town" Law replied.

"Nice to meet you Law...not to sound rude but why are you here?" Ringo asked.

Law hopped up on a dusty counter and said, "Trudy told me you were having a problem with some Powder Gangers. Though I'd come by and see what was up"

Ringo slumped down on a nearby chair and scratched his head. He was definintely older than Law, but not by much. He was clean shaven with a bandana tied around his neck and some comfortable looking clothing.

"Just stuck in this gas station, trying to wait out the Powder Gangers. Cobb won't get close to any place in town for fear of me shooting him in the back, which I'll do" Ringo sighed.

"Well it sounds like Cobb is getting impatient, he might come back with friends" Law informed him. "What'd you do to him anyway?"

"What did I do to HIM?" Ringo said, almost yelling. "He and his band of criminals ambushed my caravan and killed all of my friends. I managed to take a couple out in the process, by I had to escape when I was outnumbered."

"So he probably wants to find you because you killed his mates too" Law said.

"Well then I'll get my chance to take out a couple more of them before they off me" Ringo stated. He was grinding his jaw in anger, and clenching his fists.

"Sounds good, I'm in" Law told him.

Ringo raised an eyebrow and said, "These are dangerous criminals, even with your help I doubt we'd get out alive."

"I'm still in, I met this Cobb guy. He's a skinny little fuck and I'm not about to let him run through the town that saved me" Law replied.

Ringo stood up and said, "Well if you're serious about this then go talk to Sunny and Trudy. If you think anyone else in the town is willing, recruit them too"

"You got it" Law said with a little grin. They heartily shook hands and Law left the gas station, ready to repay Doc for his help...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 First Blood**

Law was standing outside the gas station and it was dusk with the sun setting over a distant peak. The resulting red glow made the town look irradiated but it was oddly beautiful to him.

Done admiring the town, Law needed to find people to help make a stand. A short jaunt down the hill brought Law back to the bar, where Pete was still vigilantly sitting in front of. He walked through the door only to find nobody inside, walked about the bar only hearing the floor boards creak beneath him.

Leaving the bar, Law just chalked up the absence to it getting late and everyone retiring. He took a little stroll around town taking in each building both new and old, all together making a town. Law suddenly felt sadness at the fact that he didn't know if he had a collection of buildings to call his own. Law put his hand on a rotted piece of wood, flimsily tied to other pieces of rotted wood in an attempt to make a fence. He admired the notion despite it being a pathetic attempt, and started to head back to Doc's.

Law looked around Doc's house and found him flipping through the pages of some book. "Hey Doc, I hate to ask this and all but.." Law started to say.

Without looking up from his book Doc said, "There is a pillow and a blanket on the couch, make yourself at home"

Law turned his head and saw what Doc said was true. Law concluded that Doc already knew he needed a place to sleep, and prepared accordingly. Law said, "Hey I appreciate it Doc, and not just for letting me stay... for the whole".

Law circled around his head wound with his finger and Doc said, "No problem, it's what us doctors do"

Law let Doc get back to his book, while he settled himself on the couch. It was still warm in the house so he pulled the blanket mid-way up his chest and laid his head on the pillow. Law couldn't shake the sadness that was plaguing him. His loss of identity couldn't be ignored, but he didn't want it to stop him. Until he regained his memory, he would just have become a new person along the way.

_The next day_

Law spent his morning helping Doc around his place with menial tasks. Cleaning his tools, making a trip to the well were just a few of them. Anything that Law could do to help out Doc, he was going to get on.

Doc dismissed Law, which was the perfect opportunity to start recruiting people to fight against the Powder Gangers. Law made one more trip to the water well and saw Sunny filling up a bucket. He came beside her and said, "Hey Sunny"

"O hey Law, how're you feeling today?" She greeted back.

In truth Law's head did feel slightly better, but there was still a constant pain that he couldn't shake without the pills Doc gave him yesterday. "Better" He lied. "Hey I wanted to ask you, does that Joe guy come around town often?"

Sunny spilled some of the water in her bucket and her face got a little red. Law followed up with, "I only ask because I didn't care for him threatening the town like he did yesterday. I wanted to know what you guys felt about it"

Sunny looked at Law and asked, "Well what would you do about it?"

"I talked with Ringo and we are thinking about putting up a fight" Law told her.

Immediately Sunny said, "I'm in"

Law was a bit surprised by her quick answer and asked, "Well I'd feel bad if I didn't tell you that we might die horribly"

Sunny grabbed Law's bucket and started to fill it up with water as she said, "I don't care, Cobb is a bad man and I'll die before he takes the town without a fight" She angrily jerked the spout shut and handed Law the bucket, her arm slightly shaking.

Law took the bucket and asked, "Any reason why you are so mad at him?"

Sunny started walking and Law quickly followed. She kept her head down and admitted, "Cobb is a good liar, and I let him get too close because of it. When I found out who he really was he had already ditched me"

It might have been shallow of him, but Law couldn't help feeling slightly less attracted to Sunny now that he found out that she was recently used. It wasn't the fact that she was duped into sleeping with Cobb, but that she had slept with someone recently. Law didn't know too much about himself but he definitely felt like once a man had gotten in, his mark stayed for a couple of days.

They were back at the town and Law asked, "So would you know of anybody else willing to back us up incase the Powder Gangers show up?". Law was grateful that Sunny was willing to put her life on the line, but three people would come up short if the Gangers showed up with anymore than five.

Sunny placed her bucket against the bar and faced Law, "Maybe if you talk with Trudy, she is kind of the matron of the town. Pete may be old but he still has some fight in him." She crossed her arm and bit her lip, "I can talk to a couple of the settlers...but the tough sell will be Doc and Chet"

"Who's Chet?" Law asked. Sure Law was only in town for a day, but he thought that he was introduced to all of the important people already.

"Chet is the owner of the general store over there" Sunny said pointing over her shoulder. "He is really cheap though so don't expect anything from him"

Law saw Pete at his usual spot, so he decided to target him first. "Thanks Sunny, do me a favor and ask those settlers... and let me know if any trouble comes" Law told her as he walked away.

Pete waved to Law as he approached and Law returned the motion. "Hey Pete, have you got any time?" Law asked.

Pete chuckled and said, "I always have time. What do you need?"

Law knew he would need to choose his words carefully if he was going to get any support outside of Sunny. He had a feeling that not everyone was passionate about making sure Cobb and his men didn't roll over the town.

"So I don't know if you've heard, but we have a little situation with the Powder Gangers and.." Law started.

"And yer asking if I can contribute?" Pete concluded.

"Well I don't want you to do anything you'd be uncomfortable with but.." Law tried to say.

Pete cut him off again with a wave of his hand, "Kid I feel for ya, and I don't like the idea of the town being run by convicts." He leaned back in his chair and said, "But I don't feel right letting you guys screw around with my dynamite...you could hurt yourselves."

Law sat down on the planks by Pete and looked at him, one eye closed from the sun in his eyes. "How's the throwing arm?" he casually asked.

"My throwing arm?" Pete rasped.

"Yeah, your throwing arm. It's obvious that you are a veteran with the stuff, so would you mind terribly lobbing a stick or two at the right people?" Law asked.

Pete chuckled, "You really are desperate aren't you?". He paused a bit and asked, "Why do you even care so much?"

Law shrugged and said, "I don't know where I'm from, there's a chance I won't ever know. Doc patched me up though, and he lives here. What kind of ingrate would I be if I didn't make a stand to defend this place?"

"Admirable, but Doc might not see it the same way" Pete said with a twinge of sympathy.

"Why wouldn't he?" Law asked.

"All that I'll say is Doc is a pacifist for some good reasons. Also don't ask him about his leg, and I mean it" Pete warned.

"Understood...so will you help us?" Law asked.

Pete paused for a moment, then looked around at the town. He sighed and said, "I have to, this is my home too". He pulled a revolver from behind his back and put it on his thigh, giving it a pat. "I'll watch your back"

Law stood up and gave a weak punch to Pete's shoulder, "Hey I appreciate it, but stay back a bit. I want you to come out of this alive"

Law opened up the door and found more people today than he did last night. Trudy was wiping down the counter and Law took a seat.

"How you feeling Law?" Trudy asked, not taking her eyes off the counter.

"Better, went and saw Ringo last night ya know" Law told her.

Trudy looked un-phased and asked, "Oh yeah, how did that go?"

Law tapped his fingers on the counter and said, "Pretty well, we had a little chat and decided that if the Powder Gangers come to town...we're gonna put them down".

Trudy slung the rag over her shoulder and with an annoyed expression and asked, "And how do you expect to do that?" She had tried to stand up to the Powder Gangers the first time they came into town, and after two weeks of harrassment, she was at the end of her rope.

"Well Sunny and Pete are backing us up on this, and I wanted to talk to you about helping us out" Law told her.

Trudy put her hands on her hips and asked, "And how could I possibly do that"

It was time for Law to see if he could talk his way into getting her help. He looked at Trudy as if she was being ignorant and said, "C'mon Trudy, I've only been here a day and I can already tell that you're the mother of the town. You and I both know that you won't let anything happen to it, and people will stand behind you". It was a bit of a gamble but he continued anyway, "Plus it could be a bit of fun with the guns and all"

Trudy quickly grabbed a clear bottle with brown liquid in it and took a quick swig from it. She sloshed it in her mouth abit before swallowing and taking another. Law looked at her curiously and when she saw this, she held out the bottle to him. Law took it and took a pull from it as well. It burned every part of his mouth and he barely swallowed it down. He tried not to show his discomfort, and was impressed how Trudy could drink it with ease.

She slammed the bottle back onto the shelf and said, "Ok Law, I'll help you guys out" She looked over to her left and asked, "Has Chet agreed to support us?"

"Uh, he was kind of last on my list" Law admitted.

Trudy saw his lack of confidence, she was a good amount older than Law and with that came some experience. "Law, do me a favor and talk to him with the same intent that you did with me. Relax a bit and remember that you might have to out-dick him even when he inevitably tries to do it to you". She smiled and said, "Do that and I bet he'll offer up something"

Law smiled back, his confidence coming back to him. After Trudy told him she'd wrestle up some volunteers he headed next door to talk to Chet. He stepped through the door to find a short man with some black facial hair and a little bit of a scowl on his face.

Law walked up to the counter and Chet greeted him, "Hi stranger, I'm Chet. What can I get for you?"

"Hey, I'm Law, I'm new in town and noticed that you guys have a bit of a problem with the Powder Gangers. I have some people willing to fight them off but I was hoping you could give us some supplies." Law said. He wanted to get straight to the point.

"Woah Woah, not so fast." Chet said with an appalled look on his face. "Thats a thousand cap investment you're talking about"

Law had no idea what caps were yet but he did not like the 'thousand' that came before it. "Surely you have something to spare?" Law asked.

Chet crossed his arms and shrugged, "Nope, things are tight and nothing's free out here".

Law recognized this as the 'dicking' that Trudy was talking about. In response to this, Law patted the dusty counter and said, "Fuck it, business will probably be better with the Powder Gangers running the town". Law turned and said, "Good luck with the store, I don't think they'll kill you or anything".

Law was out of the door and heading up to the gas station when the door to the store flung open. Law turned around and Chet was huffing towards him, a brown clump in one hand and a gun in the other. "Here" he said as he handed law the items. "Don't say I never did anything, but if shooting starts I'll be in my shop"

"Fair enough..thanks Chet" Law replied. Chet huddled back into the store while Law looked over his 'gifts'. There were brown pants and a brown vest that had extra padding on it. He assumed it was armor, and was excited to get out of the jumpsuit he had on. He spun around and saw Doc in front of him, which warranted a bit of a jump.

"What have you got there Law?" Doc asked. There was a bit of a tone that worried Law.

Law answered, "Oh clothes from Chet and" he looked into his other hand and said, "...a gun"

"Interesting, interesting...I've heard around town that you were thinking about taking on the Powder Gangers" Doc said.

Law looked down and didn't feel like saying anything. Doc hadn't voiced his opinion yet but it was pretty obvious that he was against the idea. "You know Law, just because you can walk around after your injury, doesn't mean you don't need rest. Also, you certainly should not eb trying to pick fights with criminals."

Law nervously looked away and Doc half-shouted, "Are you listening to me!"

Law nodded but Doc continued, "What was the point of me patching you up if you are just going to run straight to trouble?"

"It's because you patched me up Doc" Law answered. Doc raised his eyebrow in confusion and Law said, "You brought me back from the grave, so I owe you my life. I may not know who I am but I know that it would be wrong for me to leave when I can help you"

"This is nothing to get yourself killed over" Doc said adamantly.

"Well maybe I won't die!" Law snapped back.

The conversation was interrupted by Sunny, who came running at the two of them.

"Cobb and his gang are headed this way" She said, panicked.

Law asked, "How many?"

"Not including Cobb, we have seven more with him" She answered.

"Go get Trudy, get everyone ready. Doc, go back to your house, I'll come get you when this is over" Law ordered.

He started to walk away and Sunny yelled, "Where are you going?"

Law turned his head and yelled back, "To go get Ringo...and try on my new clothes".

Cobb was outside of the bar with his men, each one armed with at least on stick of dynamite. Four of them had blue shirts on from the NCR Correctional Facility, while the others felt the need to have the sun beat down on their bare skin. After about two minutes of waiting Joe pulled out his revolver and fired a single shot into the air.

Trudy got the hint so she, Sunny, Pete, and three other volunteers slowly made their way outside. You could see in their eyes that some felt that they were walking to their grave. With a groan Pete sat down on his usual chair while Trudy went to the head of the pack.

Cobb put on his best shit-eating grin before he said, "Looking lovely today Trudy, I trust you are ready to hand Ringo over."

Trudy gulped and said, "No I don't think we are ready to do that"

Cobb pouted and looked back at his friends, who started to laugh. He turned back to Trudy and said in a nasaly voice, "But I thought you knew I'd kill you all if I didn't?"

He motioned to his men with his head and said, "Line them up"

Cobb's arrogance was the reason why he didn't see Law and Ringo make their way from the gas station, to the house that was to the side of where Cobb and his gang stood. Law was waiting patiently for Ringo to make his move.

As soon as Cobb gave his command, Ringo stepped out of the shadows while Law circled around the house.

"Bad move Cobb!" Ringo shouted.

Revolver in his hand and his face twisted in rage, Cobb whipped around to Ringo's direction and aimed his gun straight at him. Again, Cobb being un-aware of his surroundings would be his undoing. He didn't catch Law giving a signal to Pete, who casually lit a stick of dynamite and tossed it to the Powder Gangers. All but one gang member saw the dynamite, and instead of warning his comrades, he fled away from the lit stick. Though not intending to help, some of the others saw him running, and just barely jumped to safety.

The explosion rocked everyone for a bit, creating some panic among Trudy and the group. Cobb got blown to the side while two of his companions weren't as lucky. One lay dead on the ground as a pool of blood slowly expanded around him. The other was clutching what was left of his left leg, rolling around and screaming in pain.

It took the bullets from the other members to finally snap Trudy and the others into action. Fortunately Ringo was already firing his nine millimeter at the dispersed group, and they were focused in returning his fire.

Sunny brought up her rifle and started firing rounds at the one charging at her with a bat. The first shot found itself in the Ganger's abdominal, but it didn't stop his charge. She spent the shell and tried to fire off another shot but the bat connected with her rifle and knocked it away. Sunny dodged the next swing but was kicked in the chest and fell to the ground. The Ganger was quick to raise the back over his head but before he could bring it down, both he and Sunny stared at the new hole that appeared in his chest. The Ganger slumped over and revealed Sunny's savior, Ringo.

Law saw Trudy and her volunteers making progress against two gangers pinned down behind rocks. Law's heart slowed as he saw another Ganger, approaching the group from the side, raising his gun.

Without a second thought, Law raised his own gun and the world around him slowed down. The first shot rang out and he saw the Ganger's back arch, but Law wasn't finished. He fired two more shots that sank themselves into the Ganger.

Ringo helped Sunny up and they locked eyes for a moment, finding a spark in the oddest of situations. They slowly got closer, but Ringo saw Sunny look over his shoulder, and her lips started to tremble. As she embraced him he turned his head to see Cobb back on his feet, with blood and dirt mixed on the side of his face.

He was shaking with rage, so much that he could barely keep his gun aimed at Ringo's head. "Now you are gonna burn, and everyone in this town" He snarled.

Thats when Cobb felt a warm gun barrel against his temple and heard, "You first"

This was the last thing that Cobb heard, as a nine millimeter bullet tore through both of his eyes and made it's way out of the other side of his head. Cobb's body fell to the side while Sunny buried her eyes in Ringo's chest.

Law watched the smoke dissipated from the barrel of his gun, then turned his attention to the everyone else. Pete was clutching the side of his arm as he walked up to Powder Ganger on the ground, kicking him to make sure he was down.

Law saw all of the blood that was staining Good Springs, and the scared residents peeking out to see if the fight was over. The Ganger that had his leg blown off had already died from loss of blood, and the other Gangers met a smiliar fate.

Nausea started to form in Law's stomach as he saw what he did to Cobb's head. Law didn't regret saving Ringo, but he couldn't help feeling sick about what he had done.

Trudy approached Law and asked, "Everyone seems to be decently alright. Pete had a slug pop through the side of his arm, but it's nothing that Doc hasn't seen before".

"Speaking of Doc, I should go let him know that everything is fine now" Law told her.

As he turned away Trudy called out to him, "Law wait". He stopped and turned slightly whiel she said, "Thank you for your help. You saved this town and we are in your debt...you did I good thing"

Law nodded and kept walking, eager to leave the bloody scene that everyone was cleaning up. If he did a good thing, then why did he feel so terrible?

**A/N Reviews would be decent, but I can't force you guys. Hoping the next chapter will come by at least the end of next weekend.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 Two Star Hotel**

"Are you sure you don't want to come with?" Law asked Ringo. "Wouldn't hurt to watch each other's back"

Law and Ringo were standing outside the bar the day after the shoot out with Cobb. There were still a couple of blood stains, but the town did a relatively good job of cleaning up the aftermath. There was a large pile of ash at Good Springs Cemetary, the remains of the dead Powder Gangers.

Ringo looked over his shoulder to the bar then back at Law, "I don't think it's time to leave just yet...". Sunny appeared outside the door and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

Law looked over Ringo's shoulder and noticed Sunny, a small smile growing on his face. "Yeah yeah I get it, well good luck and maybe I'll see you around"

Ringo was glad for them, Sunny got to move on and Ringo got some just revenge by killing Cobb and banging his girl to boot. The Mojave is a harsh place, but sometimes one's harsh reality can be another's fortune.

Ringo dug into his pockets and pulled out a bag that jingled. "Here are some caps for helping me out, I know there are only about seventy or so but I hope it helps" Ringo told him, presenting the bag to Law. Law opened the bag to reveal small, cylindrical, metal pieces that he recognized as what Doc used to pay for the food.

"I appreciate this, I hate to admit it but I don't have much of my own and I can't expect help in Primm" Law told him. "I should be going though, and I still have to see Doc".

Ringo extended his hand and said, "Say no more, see you around Law"

Law shook his hand and they parted ways, Law towards Doc's and Ringo back to the bar. Law thought of the possibility of seeing Ringo again, whether it was just around or Law came back to Good Springs.

Law found Doc sitting in the same spot, his nose in another dusty book that probably had pre-apocalypse secrets inside.

"Hey Doc...I was thinking about heading off pretty soon" Law told him. He wasn't comfortable with saying good bye, and felt guilty for leaving only after a couple of days.

Suprisingly, Doc took his eyes off the book and looked at Law for a bit, then stood up. He walked over to a footlooker and took out some small items. He looked down at them for a bit then walked over to grab a backpack off the wall.

With a somber look, Doc said, "These were on you when you were brought to me...it should help you figure out a couple of things."

Law took the back pack and slung it over his shoulder, then he turned his attention to the next item. It was a nine millimeter pistol like the one that he already had, but it wasn't aesthitically pleasing as his previous one. James popped out the clip and noticed that it curiously was missing a couple of bullets; whether it be from lack of ammunition or for a different reason.

Law then took a crumpled piece of paper for Doc and opened it up. Though it was a bit difficult to read with the wrinkles and dirt, Law decyphered what it was. It was an invoice for a delivery to be made to Mr. House in New Vegas. One platinum chip was to be carried by the courier and paid five hundred caps upon arrival.

"...New Vegas?" Law muttered. "What's up with this Doc?" He asked.

Doc rubbed his chin and said, "New Vegas is a place in the Mojave that was relatively untouched by the nuclear warheads that came during the war. Mr. House united a bunch of tribes called 'The Families' and they built the place back up as a tourist attraction."

"So I wonder why this chip was valuable enough to take from me, let alone kill for" Law mused.

"Your guess would be as good as mine, though I doubt you'll get an answer. Nobody has ever seen Mr. House" Doc told him.

Law folded up the piece of paper and stuck it in his pocket, then he tucked the nine millimeter into his pants and said. "Thanks Doc, I'm still in your debt but I need to find this chip and the guy who shot me"

Doc had a disappointed look on his face and he told Law, "Revenge is not always the best road to go down. It will consume you and once it does and you get your revenge, you have nothing"

Law looked Doc square in the eye and said, "I need answers Doc, and until I get them I will not stop until I find who shot me"

Doc recognized the resolve in Law's voice, and he sighed. He wished that he could have dissuaded Law, but he wasn't about to send him out into the Mojave without a bit more help.

Doc un-buttoned the collar on one of his sleeves, and rolled it up to reveal a strange looking device that Law had never seen before. Doc pressed a couple of buttons and slide his fingers around the screen. A loud beeping alert sounded and Doc pressed one more button before Law heard some sliding, and the sounds of latches unhooking.

Doc slipped the device off and a small stream of blood came from his arm. He held it in front of a startled Law, who didn't know if he should take it or find something to stop the bleeding.

"Don't worry, it's what happens when you take off your Pip-Boy. I think you'll have a lot more use for it than I will" Doc said as he tried to fasten it onto Law's forearm. Law tried to pull away but Doc had already locked two fasteners in place and started pressing more buttons.

Law felt some pressure move around his wrist and a piercing pain shot up his arm. He yelped as the pip boy adjusted it's sensor's into his viens and Doc let go of him. "What the hell did this just do?" Law yelled.

"Calm down, it needs to send it's probes inside of you so it can moniter your vitals" Doc said calmy.

Law had a wild look in his eyes and asked, "Probe my vitals, what the hell is this?"

Doc was starting to get annoyed that Law wasn't appreciating the gift. "It's a Pip-Boy 3000, we get them inside the vaults at a certain age. It's pretty advanced technology, and better yet it will save your life in the mojave" Doc explained.

"BY PUTTING HOLES IN ME?" Law exclaimed.

Doc immediately slapped Law across the face and he clutched his cheek. He took a deep breath and noticed the pain was gone. He flipped it over a couple of times and looked at the green computer screen. There was a picture of a boy with a big grin on his face and abbreviations on the bottom.

Law had calmed down and Doc continued, "As I was saying this keeps track of your vitals, any notes you want to make, and it documents places you have gone"

Law eyed it over and asked, "This small thing can do all of that?"

"This is actually one of the compact Pip-Boys, it sacrifices features for mobility. Other ones have the ability to pick up radio transitions, auto-document your inventory, and even provide a flashlight" Doc explained.

law waved around his arm and found the Pip-Boy to be very light despite it being a computer. "Well...thanks again Doc" Law said.

Doc sat back down and looked at his book again before saying, "Just come by to visit again sometime, which means stay alive as well"

Law grinned a bit and said, "You got it Doc, I'm going to take off".

Doc had filled up his pack with some food, water, and basic survival tools. A couple of residents waved Law goodbye and gave him stuff for his journey in appreciation of his help.

The cracked road Law was traveling down still had traces of paint from it's pre-war use. As he walked the road he saw all of the weeds and dried trees that littered the rolling wasteland. Some would have seen these as stains, trying to dirty an already filthy future. Law saw these prickly weeds and desert cacti for what they really were, which was life. Life that was still trying to thrive despite the horrible conditions that it was left to grow through. Law admired the simplicity of a plant, because all it needed, cared about, or did was survive and grow.

After further walking, Law saw a sign with multiple names of cities, followed by numbers. Primm was at the top and had a four opposite to it. There were intermittant signs on the roads mostly advertising Vegas, while a couple advertised some disdain for the NCR.

A couple more miles of walking and Law clearly see buildings in the distance, which he assumed was Primm. His heart started to beat at the possibility of finding the man who shot him and his walking pace sped up.

Law was now distinctly outside of the town, confused about where he needed to go to get in. There was a tall chain link fence around the town and the road dipped down before leveling out again.

A couple more steps and Law heard someone shout, "Hey, don't you know this area is off limits?"

A man in tan fatigues was making his way towards Law with an irritated look on his face. He had a gun slung over his shoulder so naturally Law was a bit tense.

"Why's this area off limits?" Law asked as the man was a couple yards away.

The man stopped and asked, "Don't you know that there was a prison break?"

"Yeah, I had to deal with a couple of them in Good Springs" Law told him. "What's the deal here?"

The man scratched his head underneathe his helmet and said, "Well a group of them came into town and killed the sheriif, took the deputy hostage, and set up in the Bison Steve Hotel"

"Ok wait, what is a sheriff and deputy, and for that matter what is the Bison Stever Hotel?" Law asked him.

The annoyance on the man grew and he said, "Look, if you want more information go see Lieutenant Hayes".

He stormed off and Law followed him from a distance. There was a group of tents across from the town, accompanied by people dressed the same way as Law's greeter. Law started to ask around about Hayes and was eventually pointed towards the tent farthest away from town.

Upon entering a man looked around and said, "Who let this civilian in here?"

Law stopped and looked around as well and the man asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Law" He told him. "I was wanting to know what was going on in town."

The man was standing over a table that had what looked like a map of Primm and said, "Hayes, and what's going on his a dozen or so convicts that took over the town. Whats it to you?"

"I'm looking for a man that came through here that took something from me" Law answered.

"Well we have bigger things to deal with than that, so if you'll kindly let me go back to my work" Hayes told Law. It was obvious that Hayes was extremely stressed but Law didn't think that was reason enough to be a dick.

"Would you mind if.." Law started.

"What is it now?" Hayes snapped.

Now Law was irritated, but he wasn't about to do anything stupid. Even though he wanted to punch Hayes in the face he was outnumbered, and he decided that Hayes wouldn't mind if Law solved his own problems.

He left the tent and started to walk across the arch that led to town. He was in a pissy mood and was hoping he'd run into his murderer so he could take out his frustrations on him. Law's mood made him forget the small fact that convicts had taken over the town, and it became violently evident when a blow to the back of his head sent him to the ground. As his vision was fading black he saw a pair of boots approach him...

Hours later Law woke up in a dark room with his hands tied behind his back. When he sat up his entire head hurt, because when he was knocked out he hit his head wound on the ground. His face was twisted up from the intense pain and he had trouble keeping his vision focused.

"Well look who decided to wake up" a voice said.

Law lifted his head up to see three other people in the room with him, two men and a female. "Where am I?" Law groggily asked.

The bald man laughed and said, "Woah woah, not a 'hi' or 'my name is', just straight to business". He looked at the woman and asked, "Pretty rude don't cha think?"

She rolled her eyes at him, obviously not in the mood to joke around while everyone was in captivity. She stood up and walked over to Law, who was surprised that she was bound up like he was. As she worked on his bindings he noticed that everyone else's hands were freed, which prompted him to ask, "Why am I the only one tied up?"

The woman spoke, "We all were tied up but these guys are incredibly dumb. We got loose and now we just have to put our hands behind our backs and they assume we're still tied up. There you go"

Law felt the rope loosen up and he freed his arms from them, "Thanks, I'm Law by the way"

"Ah a little more manners this time", The bald man said. "I'm Torv"

The woman was still standing over Law, she waved her hand and said, "I'm Casey". Law stood up and realized that she was only a couple of inches shorter than him. She had dirty blonde hair that was a bit longer than shoulder length, and she had a slender body that was covered by a tank top and light blue jeans. She had a small nose and delicate cheeks, and despite the situation she looked like a friendly person.

"And I'm Beagle" the last man muttered. He had hair almost as long as Casey's but it was swept back and grimey looking. He had a strip of hair on his chin and a pathetic look on his face.

"Nice to meet you all, so what happened?" Law asked. His wound didn't hurt as bad but the back of his head was throbbing.

"You probably got jumped by the convicts like we did" Torv told him. "We were passing through town and got ambushed"

Casey whipped around and gave Torv an astonished look. "O bullshit motherfucker, you and I both know that you left me to take a piss and got knocked out mid-stream"

An embarrassed look spread on Torv's face as he scratched the back of his head and said, "I don't remember it like that"

"And I don't remember the name of the guy that recommend you to me, because if I did and I get out of this I would shoot him in the face" Casey countered.

Law thought that was a little harsh of her to say but she turned around to him and said, "Don't pity him, he's a bodyguard. A pretty shitty one at that"

Law couldn't help but feel sorry for Torv, but at least he knew that having a bodyguard among them would help out there situation.

"Alright, so how do we get out of here?" Law asked.

The three other captives looked at each other and then back to Law before Beagle said, "What do you mean, we just wait out the situation. They keep the hostages alive so the NCR won't come in and take the town, which means we stay alive"

"So...you guys are just going to sit in here" Law asked, hoping the would answer no. However the look on their face's gave Law his answer, which was disappointing. He started to look around the room and move things around.

"Kid, what the hell are you doing?" Torv asked. Torv didn't want the convicts to come in and kill them all.

"You all can do what you want, but I have stuff to do" Law said as he moved a crate over.

Torv got irritated and said, "Well I'd appreciate if you would cut that out, you are going to get us killed"

Beagle gave a nod in agreement but having somebody that wasn't going to lay down and submit sparked something in Casey. "What did you have in mind?" She asked.

Law slapped an empty can and said, "Well it doesn't look like there is any way to leave other than that door. So we need to get it open, but I bet it's guarded" Law sat down and thought for a moment.

He couldn't think of a plan that wasn't risky, but he though of one. "So who wants to get out of here?" He asked.

"Well what did you have in mind?" Casey asked. She didn't like the idea of dying, but staying a hostage seemed less attractive.

Law walked over and started opening up jars and said, "Perfect"

He immediately ate what was inside, which looked like some sort of jiggly red stuff. He finished the jar and shuddered a bit. "In one minute, I want you to start banging on the door and act panicked. When they come in, they'll be surprised and I want you to strangle them with your ropes"

"How will we know.." Torv started.

"You'll know it when it happens, but don't fuck us Torv, when they come in make a move" Law said. He glared at Torv because he had a suspicion that he would puss out at the last second. Torv nodded and when he did, Law swung his fist right into his stomach.

Everyone looked at each other with obvious looks of confusion and surprise. Law repeated this and hunched over with one hand on the ground. He stuck his finger down his throat and started to gurgle. Casey had a horrified look on her face and Law started to point at the door before he gave another hurk. She started to kick the door and after a couple of seconds two men opened the door.

"What the fuck is." One started to say. Law threw up a portion of what he ate and the guard exclaimed, "What the hell is wrong with him?"

Law weakly looked up and said, "Help me". He then tossed up the rest of the stuff that he had eaten onto the ground.

Before the guards could back away, they were clutching at the rope that was fastened around their necks. The feeble attempts to get the rope off started to lose power as the life was slowly being choked out of them. They stopped struggling and hung limp, so Torv and Casey gently dropped them to the floor.

"I can't believe that worked" Torv muttered as Law spit a mouthful of bad aftertaste.

"Well I hate to be rude but if you would stop looking so shocked and get their weapons, it would be great" Law replied. Torv grabbed a kitchen knife that the convict held while Casey picked up an mp5k from the other.

Everyone snuck out of the room, Law was in the lead while Beagle took the rear. Law had no idea where he was going, but he was just focused on what would happen if they all ran into someone. Luckily where ever they were was still pretty dark and all they had to do was stay low.

The group got to the end of a hallway so Law signaled them to stop while he peeked around the corner. He was as careful as he could be when he let one eye slip by and survey the room. Law saw the convict in the corner near a double door that was smoking a cigarette. As Law was leaning forward he lost his balance a bit and steadied himself with his hand.

He quickly retreated and cursed under his breath, wondering if the guard heard him. His fear was confirmed when he heard footsteps and looked back to see everyone with the same concern. Law looked at Torv and started wildly motioning for the knife.

Torv quickly gave Law the knife and he turned around as the footsteps got louder. Law clutched the knife tightly as he slowly stood up. Curiously the footsteps stopped, and beads of sweat formed on Law's forehead.

Without warning the convict came around the corner and he, along with Law's group froze. Nobody made a sound as the moments of surprise passed. A deeper look of surprise came over the convicts face as he looked down to see the knife plunged into his chest. He stumbled back a bit and his hand went up to touch the knife, as if he was checking to see if this had actually happened.

Law didn't know why the convict had stepped back to lean against the wall before he slid down to sit. The convict could have cried out that they had escaped, but he remained silent as the blood oozed past the knife and down his chest. Maybe the convict accepted that there was nothing he could do, or maybe his silence was a respectable way to congratulate Law for getting the drop on him.

Law had no time to speculate as he quickly shuffled to the door with everyone else behind him. He slowly pushed open the door and sunlight peaked through, revealing the freedom that they were looking for.

Everyone exited the hotel and embraced the warm feeling of the sun on thier face. The feeling was short lived though as two convicts outside yelled, "Hey!"

Everyone looked over to see the men, and the awkwardness was shattered when a rain of bullets sprayed towards the convicts. After they both slumped to the ground, Law uncovered his ears and looked towards Casey. She was still clutching the gun and had an embarrassed look on her face. Law and Torv gave her a what-the-fuck kind of look, and she meekly said, "I panicked?"...

**A/N Little bit of a filler chapter, but bear with me and power through it. Next chapter will pay off, and if I feel like it I'll make it longer **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 The Loss And The Gain**

Bullets skipped against the ground as Law and the group made their way to the building in front of them. The frequency of bullets increased as more convicts made their way to the front to aid in the assault.

Law desperately scrambled towards the doors in front of him and swung them open to usher in his new allies. Beagle's swift feet and cowardice was the reason why he flew through the doors before anyone else. Casey stumbled as she tried to quickly get through the doors and Law forced her through, hoping that she wouldn't mind.

Torv was the last one to enter the building, and Law slammed the door shut when he passed through.

Law was breathing heavily but his adrenaline had kicked in so he turned around and asked, "Is everyone ok?"

There were about two dozen people that Law didn't recognize, gathered around the group with scared looks on their faces. Law looked over at Casey who was clutching her chest but gave Law a thumbs up. Beagle was no where to be found but Law knew in his gut that he was safe and hiding somewhere.

Law looked over to a woman he heard drawing in short rapid breaths. She had her hand almost covering her mouth and there were tears forming in her eyes. Law looked down and saw what had gotten her so upset. Torv was on his stomach with his head turned towards Law, but there were no tears in his eyes. No tears, no expression, nothing had remained in Torv's eyes while he was on the ground.

Torv had spots of blood on his back where the bullets had hit him, and the amount was too much for the mercenary. Law let out a sigh of frustration, he failed to keep everyone alive.

"Who are you?" Law heard from his side. He turned to see a tanned old man, heavy with wrinkles and a cigarette in his mouth.

"I'm Law" he replied. "We just escaped from the Bison Steve"

"Yeah...I saw that" the man said with an irritated tone. He took a drag from his cigarette and asked, "Do you realize what you've done?"

Law looked at him for a bit and non-chalantly shrugged and the man continued, "They were going to use us for negotiations, but now that you killed some of their friends I don't know what they'll do"

"It's ok, the guys in the tents are here and we already took out some.." Law tried to explain.

"I think its better if you leave, as soon as possible" the man replied.

Law understood why they were upset but he was confused about them not wanting help. Casey made her way over to Law's side and he said, "If I can just get to those other guys.."

The man cut Law off again, "The NCR? The guys will just sit over there with their thumb up their ass!". He spat on the ground and said, "At least before you three came along we knew that we'd be fine as long as the convicts were here"

Law felt an unknown feeling of anger in his chest, and his face got a bit red. Were they really content with hiding in a dark building while dangerous men held there fate? Law thought it was pathetic, and he felt contempt for people willing to sacrifice their freedom.

Law didn't want to waste his time on them, but he needed their help. "Fine, I'll leave...but I need to find a man in a checkered coat that may be here" Law stated. Then addressing the crowd he said, "Speak up if you know where he is"

There was a silence in the crowd, everyone either looking at each other or at the ground. Law was about to lose his patience but Beagle slinked himself out of the crowd and said, "I know where he went"

Law looked at him for a moment and said, "Well?"

"It's not that easy, see I'd prefer it if the convicts weren't hear and it seems like you" Beagle started to say.

Law grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him close and finished his sentence by saying, "it seems like I should slam you against a wall repeatedly if you try to fuck with me"

Law heard some dribbling and he looked down to see Beagle urinating in his pants while people stepped back in fear. The word pathetic creeped back into Law's head as Beagle gulped and said, "It seemed like you should know that your guy was heading to Novac".

Law released his grip and in a voice that was too calm for the situation he said, "Thank you Beagle, where is Novac?"

"I know where it is" Casey interjected. Law turned to her and Beagle quickly scurried away.

"Would you mind marking it on my Pip-Boy?" Law asked her.

She thought for a moment and said, "I'd rather show you"

Law's wound started to hurt, and he closed his eyes but asked, "And why would that be?"

He was clearly in a bad mood but Casey wasn't fazed by this. "My bodyguard is dead, so I need a new one".

"And you think I am going to be the replacement?" Law asked. It was insane that she was going to ask something like this; yet she wasn't even asking Law, she told him.

"Look, you aren't scaring me like you are all of these people. My bodyguard is dead because of you so now you'll be my escort" She stated matter-of-factly.

Law glared at her and said, "I have business that can't be put on hold just because you can't take care of yourself".

Casey shrugged and said, "I'm not asking for you to put your business on hold, just to let me tag along...and take care of me"

Law intensified his stare while the old man stepped forward and flicked his cigarette. He twiddled his thumbs and said, "I hate to interupt but if you two could uh...GET THE HELL OUT"

Law and Casey turned their attention towards him, and without a second though Casey gave a firm kick to the man's knee. He toppled over and clutched his knee, yelling curse words at her.

Law turned to her with an approving look and said, "Alright, I think we can work something out". He turned to see all of the faces staring back at them, unimpressed by the displays of violence and the resulting camaraderie.

Law turned away from the crowd and got close to Casey's ear. "I think we should get out of here, we don't seem welcome."

Casey nodded and Law turned his attention to the doors, but he hesitated. He was concerned that there was something out there waiting for him. He opened the door by a sliver and waited. He kept gradually opening the door bit by bit but no yells are guns shots could be heard.

He finally pushed the door open but despite a few rustlings of debris it was relatively quite. Law stuck his hand out behind him and felt the mp5k in his palm. He rushed out of the door with the mp5k aimed in no particular direction except for in front of him.

The suspense of waiting for someone to shoot at him was almost as bad as the reality of getting shot. He whispered for Casey to come out, and she hunkered down to get next to Law.

In a hushed voice Law told her, "I need to get my stuff back, or else we won't make it a day"

"Yeah they took my supplies too, do you think they have them in the Bison Steve Hotel?" Casey asked.

Law thought it over and said, "Well even if they aren't, the guys who know are in there"

Casey hung her head and mumbled, "So we have to go in there"

Law didn't like it either but no guns, no water, no tent, no clothes, no chance out in the desert. The two of them made their way back to the Bison Steve Hotel. Instead of heading through the front doors the two of them went to the right side of the building and found another door. Law tried turning the handle but it barely budged. He contemplated kicking in the door but that would draw too much attention.

Casey pushed Law aside and said, "Let me handle this"

She pulled a hairpin out of her hair and slid it into the door's keyhole. Law curiously looked over her shoulder as she used a slender piece of metal to twist the handle. A couple of times she would hold back on the pressure, re-adjust the pin, then twist the handle again. After some moments Law heard a click and she slowly turned the handle, opening the door.

Law was seeing more reasons to keep Casey around as they slipped their way back into the hotel. It was about as dark as the room that Law woke up in, and he suspected that with daylight ending it wasn't going to light up anytime soon.

Law slowly moved around the halls with Casey following him, both trying to be as silent as possible. They ocasionally checked the rooms to try and find the equipment, but had no luck on their side of the hotel. They made their way to the center when they saw a small light against the wall.

The two of them slowly crept to the side of the wall and peered over to see the source. The center of the hotel was old and frail looking. It had mattresses spread around a single fire, with some sort of cooked animal to the side. There were men sitting around the fire that looked dirty and scarred. They were saying something that Law couldn't make out, but one seemed angry. A man approached the group and said something that sounded harsh to Law.

The man seemed scorned by the comment but looked away, and Law couldn't blame him. The man standing up didn't have much clothing on but a huge piece of machinery was in his hand, connected to the tanks on his back.

Law's nerves were starting to unravel, but he focused up and looked around the room. His nervousness was replaced with excitement when he saw his pack on top of a pile of them. They group of bags were against the wall closest to Law, but the problem was the convicts still in the room.

Law whispered, "We need to get them out of the room so we can get to our bags"

Casey looked around and looked like she shad an idea. From the look on her face it wasn't a good one, but she acted before Law could protest. She picked up a loose plank and started banging it against the wall. Casey didn't have time to laugh at Law's face of horror as she grabbed and flung him into another room.

Law heard voices of surprise that quickly turned to anger as the convicts were storming to their location. Casey picked up a can in the room and cocked her arm back, waiting patiently.

At the perfect time she threw the can and it barely banked off the wall and into the side hallway. She hid with Law as they heard a convict shout, "This way!".

They heard the footsteps become fainter and Casey grabbed Law's arm saying, "C'mon"

They both sprinted to the center room and Casey quickly started slinging bags over her arms. Law stared at her and she yelled at him, "Just start packing everything and let's go!"

Law snapped into action as he started loading his arms with bags and when they heard shouts they ran as fast as they could back to the doors.

Once outside they didn't break sprint, this time the hail of bullets more concentrated. Law pulled Casey behind him over towards the tents. Once they were by the awning, they met half a dozen rifles aimed at them. The soldiers had steel gazes behind their iron sights and Law froze.

Law slowly stepped backwards and lead Casey towards the east gate. The tried to move with haste, but they were still careful not to agitate the soldiers. They had left Primm through the east gate and continued back on the highway.

After a bit of silence Law said, "Seems like we did a bit more damage than good"

Casey gave Law a curious look and asked, "Where we supposed to good at all?"

"I don't know, I thought that if I helped them out I would find out what I wanted to know" Law explained.

Casey slowed down a bit and said, "Yeah well even though you didn't help them out, you got what you wanted. Is that a problem?"

All James said was, "I don't know" but this answer wasn't good enough for him. He would have thought about it more but Casey started to chuckle. "What's funny?" Law asked.

"It's just that I can tell that you're bothered by what happened, and you're thinking way too much about it" Casey explained. "Shit happens, but as long as it doesn't happen to you then what's the harm?"

"I know shit happens, but I would prefer if I didn't cause it" Law replied. "Isn't that the best way?"

Casey rubbed the side of her face trying to hide a smile as she said, "Actually back in the NCR they called me Collateral Casey"

Law stopped and asked, "And why did they call you that?"

Casey stopped as well and shrugged, "Just a couple of incidents, I'll tell you later but we should keep walking. Hopefully we'll find shelter before it gets dark"

Law followed after Casey, but he was starting to have his regrets about his new ally. Collateral Casey wasn't exactly a nickname that boosted confidence, and she had already showed a bit of why she earned it.

The two of them found some broken walls where it looked like a building used to stand but it was deemed good enough for the night. Law rummaged through his bag and pulled out his napsack. He didn't feel the need to take out the canopy since it was still summer and he had cover.

Casey was looking through the other bags and started a fire with what she found inside. Law didn't want to bitch about taking the bags, mostly because he didn't mind and thought it was a good idea.

He sat down next to the fire and asked, "Did you find anything else in the bags?"

Casey took out a pan and some meat, "I found some clothes, couple water bottles and what not. They must have ambushed a doctor or drug addict, because I found a good amount of med-x, a bit of psycho, and more mentats then I've seen in one place".

Law dug his hands through the bags and said, "Good, one of the ones I grabbed had some more of those small metal things, along with water and what not"

"You mean caps? I don't know about you but I don't have a lot of them on me so it's lucky we got them" Casey said. She flipped over the meat and it made a hissing noise.

There was a little bit of a silence between the two of them. The sun had barely set and Law wasn't tired, so he decided to find out a bit more about the woman that decided to tag along.

"So you said you where from the NCR, where is that?" Law asked.

Casey looked up and said, "Oh, it's a nation to the west. It stands for New California Republic, and from what I can tell it was one of the first nations to come up after the Great War".

"Wait, so when you say nation, do you mean like with cities and stuff?" Law asked.

"You bet, I'm from the Boneyard which is pretty much where the NCR started" Casey told him.

"So...why are you here?" Law asked.

Casey bit into the piece of meat and offered it to Law, who tore off some. She swallowed her piece and said, "Well the NCR is civilized and all, but it also has a government. You would think that people would have learned a lesson from the war but there's always the dumbasses who get ahold of power".

"So you left because you couldn't take the government" Law concluded.

"Well actually, those incidents I mentioned left me in a bit of a jam, fortunately I already wanted to go so it seemed like fate was telling me to leave" Casey explained.

Law decided to push his luck and ask, "So what was the incident?"

Casey looked at him and grinned, "No dice Law". She pointed at Law and said, "Besides, I don't know a damn thing about you"

Law sighed and said, "Fair point, but I don't really know that much about myself either". Casey gave him a puzzled look and he said, "No harm in telling you, but I lost my memory when I was shot in the head almost a week ago"

Casey's eyes widened and she asked, "Is that the reason...?" and she pointed to her forehead.

Law nodded and said, "I was buried but somehow I was brought to a doctor and he fixed me up".

"Tough son of a bitch" Casey remarked.

Law let loose a laugh and said, "Thanks. Yeah the only thing I really remember is my name and the face of the guy that shot me"

"The checkered guy right? Do you think he'll be in Novac when we get there?" Casey asked.

Law's expression darkened and he said, "He better, he has something of mine and I intend to take it back"

"And if he willingly gives it back?" Casey asked. She was fishing for something that would give her a better read on Law.

"Then in return he gets a bullet" Law told her.

She smiled and said, "Dammit Law, I like the way you do business".

It was more personnel than business, but Law didn't care. He just needed to get to Novac and he would put the man in _his _grave.

Law wanted to change the subject, "So what did you do before coming here?"

Casey wagged her finger and said, "We'll come back to that one later, i'm going to organize the stuff we have and go to bed".

"Alright, I'll wash up and hit the hay" Law told her. Law had found a tube called 'sanitizer' in one of the bags, along with some sort of liquid that would help clean his mouth.

After being done he made sure Casey knew where they cleaners were, and he slipped into his bag. The clothes that they grabbed made a good support for his head and he was soon asleep.

James woke up to the sounds of rustling, and he carefully left his bag and looked around the wall corner. He was relieved to see Casey packing things into one of the bags, which she had lined up.

She noticed he was awake and smiled, "Good morning"

"Good morning" Law replied. His head wound started to burn and he did his best not to rub it or show any pain.

"If you are feeling up to it, I think we should get started walking. I heard there is a town called Nipton so we can get rid of this stuff early and maybe take a day off before hitting Novac" Casey told him.

Law rubbed the gunk from the corners of his eyes and said, "Whatever you want, I am just the guard right?"

Casey frowned and said, "Don't be like that, I am trying to help you out"

"You're right, I'm sorry" Law apologized. "I get a little cranky after waking up"

Casey walked over and smushed Law's cheeks together. "That pretty face doesn't match your nasty attitude" She said in a baby voice.

Law lightly batted her hands away and picked up a couple of the bags. He slipped his backpack on and they started walking down the highway again. Law didn't know how he felt about the long stretches of sand that only led to mountains. He couldn't help trying to figure out what used have around before the Great War.

The two travelers kept silence for a couple of miles, but the boredom got the best of Casey. "So I was wondering, what happens after you kill checker...suit..murder guy?" Casey asked.

Law grinned and replied, "We'll call him checkers, and I told you that he took something from me. Truth is that it wasn't mine, I was supposed to deliver it. Makes sense if I deliver the showdown"

"Where was it going to?" Casey asked.

"Some place called Vegas" Law told her.

"VEGAS?" Casey yelled. I mixture of surprise and joy was on her face, then she said, "Oh I am totally sticking with you past Novac"

Law looked at her and asked, "What's special about Vegas?"

Casey spent a good twenty minutes explaining Vegas, which was a welcome distraction from the walking. The two of them had already passed the fork in the highway and were a mile north.

"And then if you do really good they even give you stuff. They give you stuff! Who the hell does that? 'Oh you're talking our money, here's a free drink'."Casey rambled. "I'm telling you, all the sutff I've heard is great and..Hey, listen to me..Law!" she poked Law as he stopped and looked out in the distance.

Casey didn't know why Law looked so serious and he said, "Do me a favor...get my guns out of the bag". Casey looked into the direction he was faced and immediately started going through the bags.

She handed him his guns and he tucked one in his waisteband. He cocked the other gun as he continued to walk down the road, towards the large pillar of smoke in the distance.

**A/N Thank you Phoenix'sSoul for the review. Tried for a little character development in this chapter so anyone reading can get a better idea about Law and Casey.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 You Learn Something New Everyday**

There was a pungent smell carried on the wind that got stronger as Law got closer to the smoke. The pillar of black was uniformly thick until the tip where it was expanding and escaping across the sky. The source was hidden from the many houses closed off by a long wooden fence that was smoking and smoldering.

"What is this place?" Law quietly asked. He didn't want to pass through yet for fear of running into whatever destroyed the place.

"It's...supposed to be Nipton. At least that's what I was told" Casey answered. She was stunned at the site but she cleared her throat and said, "We have to go through if we're getting to Novac"

Law shook his head and said, "I don't know, maybe we should find a way to go around"

"No, the mountains have dangerous animals. Let's just sneak through and I'm sure we'll be fine" Casey tried to convince him. Law chewed into his lip a bit but he nodded quickly and they carefully went through the entrance.

Both of them couldn't help get caught up into the atrocity that was Nipton. Law could see houses falling apart from the fire, but it was the wood that wasn't burned that caught his attention. Attached to it were people who were not only tied up with their arms outstretched, but slowly bleeding.

Law approached the nearest one and looked up at the man on the tall cross. He recognized him as a powder ganger by what he was wearing, but he was harmless in this position. The man's eyes were barely open and they had nothing left in them. Law looked around the cross and noticed something that made his stomach churn. There was a spot that looked like someone stripped a large sliver of wood, which was now lodged in the man's back.

Law was pulled away by Casey, who moved him into the direction of the smoke and smell. His eyes widened as he saw a large pile of bodies inside of a twisting cone of fire. The bodies were laying on top of each other in a sloppy fashion and Law turned away quickly.

"Let's just get the fuck out of here" Law said panicked.

They both hurried past the row of crucified people away from the smoke pile, trying to find a way around the gruesome scene. Law stopped to see an odd looking man with a helmet, goggles, and red padding on his body.

The man didn't say a word but when Law turned to his side he saw a group of people similarly dressed, and headed their way. The men surrounded Law and Casey much to their dispair, but it was replaced with a strange feeling of wonder as a man approached the two of them.

The man had sunglasses on a face that was cold and confident. He had armor like the other men but what set him apart from them was the head of a wolf draped over his head. He looked Law over and said, "Curious that you two would willingly enter"

His statement was met with silence, to which he only chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I won't have you strung up like the rest of these profligates." He said this like he was amused by the fear, yet his demeanor didn't change.

Law could tell they were looking eye to eye, and then the man spoke again, "No...No I have a better use for you. I want you to remember what happened to this town, every detail. Once you have...I want you to let every NCR trooper, captain, or citizen the lesson the Legion taught here"

This broke Law's silence, "And what lesson is that?"

The man in the wolf helmet folded his arms and explained, "This town gave quarter to profligates and gangs alike. When the mayor planned to sell out the Powder Gangers to the NCR, he thought to double his profits by leading us to an ambush against them. This...was a town of whores, worse than the regular profligate."

Law was silently listened to the town's fate as the man looked towards the pile of burning bodies. He coldly told Law, "We held a little lottery, giving everyone a slip of paper with a number on it and the lucky ones were simply beheaded. The next were thrown in the fire and after that were the crucifixtions."

Law spoke up, "So you punished everyone for the greed of the mayor?"

The man offered a small smile and said, "In a way yes, but I assure you the punishment was not lost on the unworthy. Everyone in the town clutched their ticket, waiting for the numbers to be called out. Even as loved ones were being dragged away to their deaths, none raised their hand in defense...for fear of letting go of their ticket."

Law let the information sink in and he thought of what he encountered in Primm. Law would never have done something like this..or would he? He had no idea of his former self, but he knew how he felt at that point, and that's what he would act on.

"Your cruelty will catch up to you...but I can't help admire the purity of the Legion's punishment" Law told him.

A couple men behind him chuckled and the wolfed man's grin grew wider as he said, "Yes there is an undertone of justice isn't there?". He motioned to his men and said, "_Amoveo_"

The men started to walk past Law and Casey but the wolfed man said, "I am Vulpes Inculta...and we...are...the Legion. Never forget what you saw here". He made his way to the front of the pack to leave Law and Casey.

There was a silence between Law and Casey before Law spoke up, "We'd better get going, we've wasted a lot of time here"

Casey gave a meek nod and they found their way out of the burning town. The highway snaked a bit and offered up nothing more than more jagged rocks and dirt on each side. Finally they encountered some flat land while it was starting to get dark.

"Hey Law, would you mind if we set up camp for now?" Casey asked.

Law was surprised but he said, "Yeah no problem"

It took them no time to set up everything, but Casey wasn't in the mood to cook any meat for them. It was most likely the image of the burning bodies still in her thoughts, but it wasn't the only thing she had on her mind.

Law was working on the stale bread that he broke off and Casey was sitting near the fire while hugging her knees. "Hey Law" She said softly.

Law looked over to her and responded, "Yeah?"

She didn't look him in the eye's but asked, "Did you mean what you said back there...about admiring the Legion?"

Law knew this might have come up, but he wasn't going to skirt around the issue. "No, not really. I guess if I had to re-word it, I would have said that I admire that they believe in some sort of punishment of people like that...even though it was cruel".

He flicked a small piece of bread into the fire and said, "Trust me, I would have never condoned what they did, but I thought that if I paid a small compliment that they wouldn't bother us"

Casey nodded, understanding Law's point of view. "Alright, makes sense to me...it's just we heard stories about the Legion back in the NCR."

"What kind of things?" Law asked.

Casey tightened the embrace fo her knees and answered, "Bad...things"

Law knew he shouldn't push the subject, so he decided to slightly change the direction. "So tell me more about when you were in the NCR"

Casey stared at the fire and said, "It was alright I guess. My parents enrolled me in the medical training inside the NCR government, but it didn't stick".

"What did your parents think of that?" Law asked.

She shrugged and said, "They were disappointed, especially since my dad was a field medic and my mom was a second lieutenant. Anyway since seventeen is considered the legal age of an adult and I am twenty four, they stopped talking to me after I took another venue"

"I don't suppose you are going to reveal the venue yet?" Law asked.

Casey pursed her lips and said, "Well it was still in the medical field, but not in a great way..."

Law got images of Casey performing experiments on open corpses and wasn't sure if he wanted to know anymore. "Say no more" was his response.

"What about you, remember anything more about yourself?" Casey asked.

"Nope" was Law's simple answer, but it was a lie. Not fully a lie but he didn't tell her that he had seen the armor donned by the Legion before, he just didn't know where.

The sunrise woke Law up and he shook off his fatigue. It wasn't a pleasant night of sleep on the hard ground but he was starting to get used to it. Law saw a mole rat sniffing it's way along the highway with a baby slowly following. The rat looked up at Law for a brief moment but continued on it's way. Law thought about killing it and packing up the meat but the creature did him the service of not attacking him, plus she was a mother.

Casey woke up while Law was packing his equipment back up and they were on their way again. It was a time consuming walk so Law decided to get some practice on his Pip Boy. He had already documented Nipton, and he found out that it auto-documented Primm. There were a couple of landmarks that Law decided to put in, in case he needed to find a place in the future.

Again the highway dipped down into a valley which gave Law some comfort knowing that even though they were on the low ground the valley was too high for any real danger. After some time the two came across a collection of beaten up mobile homes guarding two shacks.

"Check it out?" Law asked.

"...Nah, let's just get to Novac and find your guy" Casey responded.

Law couldn't disagree, he had already been traveling for days and was ready to get this settled. It was an hour or two past noon according to the Pip Boy and Law saw something large in the distance. A mile closer and he saw that it was green and looked like a large animal, but it couldn't have been because of the cracks and missing pieces of skin.

Novac was a rink-dink town compared to Primm, but considerably larger. It had a larger building across from the statue, and behind that was a decent amount of pre-war houses and self-made shacks. Law and Casey were already by an empty gas station and the small crop field behind it.

"Well...Welcome to Novac" Casey said gesturing with her arm.

"Yeah, we made it. I wonder where we should start?" Law asked.

The answer would be put on hold as a high pitch squeal was heard and a woman sprinted towards the group. While Law started to reach for his gun Casey just grimaced as the woman embraced her with force.

"Oh I can't believe you actually came out here" the woman said happily.

The woman finally let go and Casey turned to Law and explained, "This is my sister Ada"

Law shook her hand as two tall men appeared behind her and said, "Sister? Casey didn't say she had one. I'm Law by the way"

"Nice to meet you Law" Ada replied. She turned to Casey and said, "I see you got a bodyguard like I told you"

Casey scratched her neck and said, "Not exactly, the first one I hired didn't work out so I asked Law if I could tag along"

"Yeah...asked" Law added while he rolled his eyes.

Casey kicked his ankle and Ada laughed. "So what did mom and dad think of you coming out here?" She asked.

"They didn't really feel like talking to me after I ran into some trouble back home" Casey explained.

There was a hint of regret in her voice but Ada just waved it off, "Well that stuff will happen in your line of work but they'll get over it"

Casey didn't seem too convinced but Ada grabbed her arm and said, "C'mon let me show you around"

Ada dragged Casey off, leaving Law with the two men who he assumed where with Ada. It was slightly awkward so Law said, "What's up?"

One of them had metal armor on that didn't shine because of the dirt and rust. There was a machete on his hip and he asked, "Aren't you a little young to be bodyguarding?"

Before Law could answer the slightly shorter one with a rifle on his back cut in, "Yeah I was wondering that too"

Law paused a bit to see if there were any other interruptions before he answered, "I am not a bodyguard, I was in a bit of a situation and as I was leaving Primm Casey wanted to tag along"

"I've been to Primm, so-so city but the people are nothing special" one said.

Law had to nod his head in agreement before the shorter one asked, "So then what are you doing in Novac?". Law summarized his journey so far and the guard looked impressed.

"Well that explains the scar that I noticed" he said.

"Yeah it isn't completely covered but for the most part people seem to not notice, or they are polite" Law told him.

"Well can't say that I'm that polite, but how about we try to find the asshole that did it" he offered.

"I know you two are bodyguards but I intend to kill this guy...could get messy" Law told them.

The one in the armor said, "We can take care of ourselves...besides, it's not everyday we get to see a zombie kill someone".

Both men laughed and the taller one introduced themselves, "I'm Will and he's Pen, let's go find your guy".

Law appreciated them offering to help despite their motives. He didn't care either way because he was in Novac and ready for revenge.

Will lead Law to the giant statue that he called a 'dinosaur' and the went through the door. Inside looked like a store with various trinkets around and behind the desk was a dark skinned man.

"Hey Cliff, do you know where a guy in a checkered suit is?" Will asked.

The man looked up from his magazine and said, "No need to introduce me to the new guy, and yeah I saw him but Manny is the one who talked with the guys he was with"

"Sorry, this is Law. We'll go up and see Manny then." Will told Cliff. Cliff grunted and the three of them went up the stairs. Will knocked on a door before opening it up, and Law saw a man close to the ledge laying down. Law realized that they were in the mouth of the dinosaur and the man got up.

"Hey Will, what do you need?" He asked. Law assumed this was Manny, who had a tan vest over his black shirt and a beret on his head.

Will prompted Law to tell his story and once finished, Manny had a grim look on his face. "That's the reason why I left the Khans"

"I didn't know you were a Khan" Will said with a confused expression.

"It was before my time in the NCR, trust me, it's the past" Manny said defensively. Law could understand, he hadn't heard anything admirable about the Khans during his time in the Mojave.

"But anyway yes, I saw him but he skipped town yesterday morning" Manny explained.

"Motherfuck" Law sighed. "They didn't say where they were going did they?" Law asked.

Manny rubbed his chin and said, "I do, but would you be willing to help us out around here?"

Law didn't really know what to say, and he knew he couldn't force the information out. "...Time is kind of the essence right now".

"True, but if you can take care of powder gangers and convicts then I'm sure you can help us with one little thing" Manny told him.

"Ah you can't give the kid a break?" Pen asked.

"Not really, information is not free and we are in need of help" Manny explained.

"Alright Alright, if I have to do something I'd rather do it quickly, so what do you need?" Law asked. It didn't seem like he could work his way around it so he might as well do some good, especially after Primm.

"We still have a ghoul problem over at the RepConn station, which has lead to some injuries that we can't get fixed" Manny told Law.

Law turned to Will and said, "Hey Casey told me she used to go to medical school in the NCR, think she could help?"

Will scratched his head and said, "Well if she's anything like her sister, then probably not"

"I don't understand" Law told him.

Will looked at Pen, who tried to look away. "Ada did the same thing, but she isn't the most compitent doctor. I mean she has stitched me up fine a couple of times, but this stuff is more suited for the auto-doc"

"Auto-doc?" Law asked.

"Robotic surgeon" Will said quickly.

"And it doesn't work becaussseee?" Law said fishing for the point.

"Well it needs tranquilizers to sedate, antibiotics to fight infections, adrenaline to wake the patient up, and a bunch of other chems that we're out of" Will explained. "And you've never been in an auto-doc procedure without those, because you would die from shock"

"And you'd feel terribly violated" Pen added with a grin.

"Thank you...Pen. But he's right, it looks terrible on the outside but it fixes you up good as new" Will stated.

"Follow me" Law said as he opened the door. Everyone followed him to the stairs that lead to the dino, and Law pulled his bags from underneath the steps. He rooted around a couple of them before he found what he was looking for.

"Holy shit kid" was Manny's reaction as Law opened a bag full of the assorted drugs that he and Casey had grabbed in Primm.

"Look through these and let me know if any of these will help" Law told them.

The three of them sorted through the bag and Will said, "I'm no doctor, but these med-x's will definitely help"

"Looks like you've been keeping busy Casey" the men head from behind them. They turned to see Ada and Casey standing behind them.

Casey gave Ada a shocked look and said, "Wow Ada, I did not make this".

Ada shrugged while Law looked at Casey suspiciously. "Why would you think she made this Ada?" He asked.

Casey knew it had to come out sooner or later but she was still nervous about Law's reaction.

Ada was not aware of the secrecy that Casey kept, and carelessly said, "Because she was a pharmacist back in the NCR"

Law hadn't heard that word before so he asked, "What does that mean?"

"She makes drugs dumb dumb" Ada replied.

"Hey leave him alone, he doesn't know where he's from" Casey said trying to defend him.

"Oh...sorry Law" Ada apologized.

"Its no problem" He replied. He then looked at Casey and said, "So thats why you were in medical school"

Casey nodded and Ada asked, "So how'd you get ahold of all of this if you didn't make it?"

Casey looked down and said, "We came across them".

Ada shot a judging look at Law and then back to Casy, "I thought this stuff was behind you"

Now Law was confused, and Casey could see it on his face. Trying to change the conversation she said, "I'll tell you about it later. Why are you guys even going through them anyway?"

"Apparently they are in need of medicine for the auto-doc. Something about ghouls injuring the citizens" Law explained.

Casey scratched her head and said, "We probably don't have enough to make the necessary chemicals, but I could make some out of the mentats and a couple other things"

Law immediately said, "Name it and I'll go get it"

"Well...I can't just do it with a couple bowl and spoons, it'd be nice to have some lab equipment. Also I'm going to need some abraxo cleaner. The more the better.." Casey told them.

Manny coughed and when he had Law's attention he said, "You know the RepConn facility has laboratory equipment, and I bet they have a decent amount of what she'd need"

"Man you are really pushing this ghoul thing" Law said with some irritation.

Manny wasn't ashamed, he wanted what was best for Novac by any means necessary. "I'm just saying, go to the site, get some of the stuff, maybe kill a ghoul or two along the way, and I'll let you know where the guy was headed"

Casey didn't say anything but now she knew why Law was offering to help in the first place. She imagined he would help in a different situation, but hunting down the man who shot him was the main priority before anything else.

Law grabbed his other gun from one of the bags and checked to see if the clip was full. "Alright, I'd rather get this over with sooner than later. I'll be back with the stuff in a couple hours hopefully"

He started to walk and Ada hollered, "Wait!"

He stopped while Ada turned to Will and Pen, "Go with him to make sure he stays safe"

The two guards looked at each other and Will said, "Uh..I don't know what you think this is, but we are your bodyguards, and not his. Plus you never said anything about prospecting in an old rocket company"

Ada said, "Casey's business is my business, plus I pay you so"

"I haven't been paid yet!" Pen blurted.

Ada paused at the interuption and continued, "Well you will after this, plus I'm sure you all will find something there to make it worth your while. Have a heart"

Will and Pen shuffled towards Law and Will grumbled, "having a heart will kill us out here"

Law whispered, "Thanks guys I appreciate it, and I'll try to hold my own"

They were about to head off but Law stopped and said, "Actually one more thing...where the hell am I going?"

Manny walked up and said, "If you start to head through this side road, cut across the exit and make a turn at your two o'clock. Then"

Law presented his Pip Boy and asked, "Mind just marking it on here?".

Law started to see signs that let him know they were getting closer to RepConn. There were large, burned pieces of metal obstructing the way, but nothing they couldn't get past or climb over. Law saw figures out in the distance, but they were red and orange.

"What's that up there?" He asked.

Pen unslung his rifle and peered through the scope. After a bit he said, "Ghouls are here alright, I count four...but I bet there is five"

Will drew his machete and gripped it with enough force to make his knuckles go white. Law saw this and drew his other pistol, ready to see what they would do.

"I'm ready when you are Pen" Will said quietly.

Pen remained silent but without warning his rifle fired, and after a moment he reloaded for his next shot. Will took a couple steps forward before Pen shot again and cursed.

Law heard what sounded like shrieks as the figures started to make their way towards the group. They had a strange way of walking, almost like jumping side to side with their arms outstretched.

Penn fired another round and one slumped over while the others maintained stride. Penn was right, there was five in total; what he didn't tell Law is that they had humanoid form, but they were covered with rotted flesh. One was already upon Will but with a swift shift to the left followed by a swipe of his machete the ghoul lost an arm.

The ghoul's loss of arm didn't seem to slow it down any as it retailiated with a swipe of its own. The hand scraped off Will's armor and he promptly took advantage of the opening by beheading the creature.

Law wasn't paying attention as he was watching Pen slam the butt of his rifle into the chest of another. One of the creatures had sprinted past the two guards with Law in it's sight.

It lunged towards him but Law reacted quickly enough to dodge the worst of the attack. He didn't dodge it completely as one of the nails from the creature sliced through the side of Law's neck.

The creature rebounded immediately but before it could make it's hop, the mixture of panic and reaction in Law forced him to unload seven bullets into the creature.

Law stood there with his pistols still aimed at the lifeless creature, whose eyes where solid whites and the face was contorted with rage.

"It usually takes about four bullets but I can't blame you for making the extra effort" Will chuckled.

"Yeah I'll be sure to work on that" Law replied as he tucked one of the pistols back into his belt. His was a bit shaken from the encounter, and he was still looking at the strange creature he had just killed.

Will clasped Law's shoulder and said, "Congrats, your first ghoul kill. Maybe you want to get your neck taken care of when we get back"

Law put his hand to his neck and felt the wet blood. He didn't notice it before but now his neck stung slightly.

"Let's keep going, I don't know if our bullets will bring more of them out" Penn said. Even though Penn hadn't said a lot around Law, his serious demeanor caught Law off guard.

Will and Law followed Penn farther down the road until they could see an enormous building that looked like it had decently survived the war. It was multiple stories tall with a satellite dish fixed at the peak. There was a dome shaped building to the left but it didn't seem like it had an entrance to it.

Pen lead them to the door and they all entered the building, which was well lit.

"This doesn't make any sense, ghouls are too mindless to be able to get the electricity working" Will said.

Pen walked forward and motioned for Law and Will to come see what he saw. "Maybe the ghouls weren't feral before they figured out how to turn on the lights" Pen said as he pointed to a figure.

It was a ghoul, but strangely it had a rob on along with a laser pistol next to it. Law picked up the pistol and eyed it over before he heard Will voice his displeasure at something.

"Son of a bitch" He sighed. Law looked over to see Will, his foot rested on a gigantic blue corpse.

Law's throat went dry as he tried to ask, "What..what is that?"

Law moved closer to see a muscular monster with a small head and eyes plagued with insanity. It was almost like a human, if I human could lift six hundred pounds, had blue skin, and look angry all the time.

"I heard stories when I first came here of mutants like the enclave used to make, but they were supposed to be yellow..." Will told them. In the hand of the mutant was a large metal bar with what looked like concrete at the end of it. It was burned in many spots, but there was a deep hole in it's chest.

"Anyone else having second thoughts about this?" Will asked.

"Well it's not like you and I wanted to go in the first place but I'm glad Law didn't walk into this by himself" Penn responded.

Law had to agree, while he didn't want to seem like a pussy he had no desire to run into one of those mutants by himself.

Everyone spun around as they heard a raspy voice, "Hey...you three, come meet us in the main lab. To the left and upstairs"

They all looked around to see who was watching them but they couldn't see the source. Law didn't waste anytime walking towards the hall to the left, curious about the voice they just heard.

"Law hold on" Will called after him, but Law was already at the end of the hall and found the room where the stairs were. It was a large room with huge crates and strange machinery. Law assumed that this is were they made whatever it was that the needed.

He ascended up the stairs with a pace that Pen and Will were having trouble keeping up with. Once at the top he saw a door with a box connected to the wall. He approached the box and after some observation he tapped on it a bit.

"Knock it off, I'm opening the door" the box shouted at him.

The box's aggression caused Law to jump back a bit, and his attention turned to the door that slid open. A bald headed man with a white coat was behind the door, and once Will and Pen caugh up he rasped, "Wow, what an ugly group of people!"

There was an awkward silence before the man said, "Well don't just stand there, follow me".

The man started to walk away, and Law looked back at the two guards who looked as confused as he was. Law decided to follow the man down the hall and up a small flight of stairs.

Law's heart quickened when he came into a room full of ghouls, dressed the same as the one they had found earlier. A couple of them noticed the new visitors, but as a whole they all seemed unimpressed by the company.

Law followed the bald man into another room and he stopped immediately.

The man in front of him was a ghoul like the others except for the tattered suit on his body. That was the least of his differences, the most notable being the the green glow emanating from his green body.

Even his voice had a glow, as he spoke to Law, "Greetings traveler, praise the great one for your coming"...

**A/N: In response to Phoenix, yes Casey is a bit of a leash to Law. She's not the most saintly though so be warned.**

**So I have finals not this week but the week after so my production will be slowed if not completely halted. I appreciate the views so far, and I see I'm getting some love from the Australians and Germans, pretty cool : )**

**Anyway bear with me, It'll be summer soon and I'll get back to it more regularly. Hope you enjoyed the chapter**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 Lean on me**

Law was speechless before the glowing figure in front of him. The green glow radiating off of him was making the air around him warm.

The man was used to people being surprised at his appearance, mostly because he knew a ghoul that was that irradiated would already have attacked them.

The ghoul introduced himself, "My name is Jason Bright, and please do not be alarmed by my appearance"

Law snapped back to reality and stammered, "Oh um hi...I uhm.. I'm Law". Law outstretched his hand for the customary greeting.

Jason chuckled a bit as he looked at Law's hand. "I know that shaking hands is customary, but forgive me for denying. It's more for your benefit thought, unless you would like an extra finger to grow out of your palm" Jason explained.

Law quickly retracted his hand, and realized the rudeness of his reaction and said, "Sorry"

Jason's smile never faltered and he said, "Do not apologize, it's been awhile since I've met a human that has shown courtisy to a ghoul". His eyes wandered behind Law and he asked, "Could I trouble your friends to drop thier weapons though?"

Law looked behind him to see Will and Pen looking ready to make a move. They would be met though by the seven or so robed ghouls with laser pistols aimed at them, and Law didn't see a reason to be hostile.

"Guys it's alright, they haven't attacked us" Law told them trying to put them at ease.

Common sense was to not let your guard down around ghouls, even if they weren't attacking. Feral ones were a lot more common than the ones whose humanity had not yet rotted with the rest of their brain.

Will and Pen hesitated, and Law motioned for them to lower their weapons. They holstered their respective weapons and Jason said, "Wonderful. Now we can focus on the task at hand"

Law raised an eyebrow and asked, "The task, what would that be?"

Jason opened his arms and explained, "The great creator is waiting for me and my flock, but the demons will not let us pass. That is why he sent you to us"

"Uh, I think you're mixed up. We got sent here by a guy named Manny...who definitely isn't the great creator. We're supposed to get you all to leave" Law told Jason.

Jason closed his eyes and asked, "Don't you see?". Law was starting to get creeped out and Jason said, "The creator sent you to us to complete our journey to the beyond"

Will stepped forward and said, "Maybe you can back up a bit and explain this whole demon thing"

"Yeah I was wondering about that too" Law commented.

The smile on Jason's face retracted a bit and he said, "The demons came, except they never really existed to us. Ranting about incoherent thoughts and destroying my flock. We managed to keep them in the basement lab, but the way to our salvation is through there"

"All the more reason for you to find a new place for salvation...like far away from here" Law replied.

"O I'm afraid there is only one path to salvation" Jason told him.

The ghouls had already gone back to their respective tasks, no longer worried about the new visitors. Law looked around but so nothing that looked like it could help Casey with making the drugs they needed.

"So what happens if we take care of these demons?" Law offered.

"Then you help us with the great journey that will take us from this land" Jason replied.

Will stepped forward and said into Law's ear, "Maybe you forgot about what we found when we first came here"

Law paused then asked Jason, "How do we get in the basement?"

Jason reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a key, "The demon lair is near the bottom of the stairs great one"

Law snatched the key from Jason's grip and started to head to the door with Will and Pen in tow. Without saying a word to Jason the three left, so he assumed they were on their way to the basement.

As the three headed down the stairs, Will grabbed Law's shoulder and said, "If you are going into that basement then you are on your own. We aren't willing to find out what these demons are"

Law looked at Will and said, "Come on, now is not the time to puss out, besides I'll need help carrying the equipment"

"What equipment?" Penn asked, "There wasn't anything back there"

Law held up the key and said, "The basement lab. The basement LAB should have what we need"

He started to head back down the stairs and found the basement, but Will and Pen were heading back to the front.

"Oh come on guys, are you really going to back out now?" Law called to them.

As Will walked out of view his voice echoed out, "This is suicide, it's not our fault if you don't realize it"

Law waved off their absence, he wasn't afraid of what might happen. He had died before as far as he was concerned, and round two wasn't going to get in his way. The sort of fear of death that would slow down most people was ignored by Law.

He pushed the key and heard the tumblers spin along with the bolts sliding out. The door slid open and Law slowly walked in. There were old computers and tall machines that were collecting dust. Above his head he saw pipes, some were dry and the others were flooded with wires.

He cautiously made his way into a long hallway that he walked down. He checked a room to his right, but it was just a tool closet. The next door he came to opened up with ease and his heart started to quicken.

On the table to the left was an assortment of glassware that looked exactly like what Casey would need for the drugs. Law quickly started to stuff the tubes and bowls into his small pack, but there wasn't enough room. He excitedly started to pick up the rest of the equipment and curled his arm around them.

Law didn't notice the distorted air that simmered behind him and the hulking figure that was breathing slowly and heavily. It stood there for awhile, observing the man making so much noise.

Law paused from the looting when he was distracted by what sounded like a computer short circuiting. He turned around to see the enormous blue figure whose chest was heaving up and down.

Nobody knows what a nightkin thinks about, or what motivates it's actions. Like what motivates a night kin to pull it's club back before slamming it into Law's left shoulder, but it happened regardless.

Law was thrown into the adjacent wall and most of the equipment in his arm shattered. If Law's shoulder wasn't in such intense pain he might have felt some of the glass enter his abdomin. His vision was spiraling but focused just in time to see the figure towering over him.

The creature bent down and looked Law in the eyes, curiously sniffing him a couple of times. Law wanted to hold back the cough that was forumalting in his throat, because he knew it would send a spray of blood into the monster's face. The blood irritated him too much though and he released the spray right into the nightkin's face.

"UUUUUUWWWWAAAAAGGGHHHH" The nightkin screamed as he clutched at his cheeks. It thrashed around before slamming into the door, leaving a dent before running down the hallway.

Once the thunderous footsteps disappeared Law let out a groan and asked himself, "What the fuck just happened?"

He shifted around to hear the glass pieces scratch against each other, and he didn't want to look down to see the damage. He vision started to blur and the pain wasn't as intense as it was a couple of seconds ago.

Law groaned as he tried to make it to his feet, but he fell back and felt the pain in his side. His next try was successful, and he shook his head in hopes of seeing more clearly. While it didn't help, Law took a deep breathe and shakily exhaled. He shuffled his feet back to the hall and towards the exit..

"And you left him there to go get the equipment?" Casey exclaimed. Will and Pen shortly made their way back to Novac and went to the cafeteria. In their absence, Casey had already loaded up the chemicals needed to treat one of the injured. She was obviously surprised when Will and Pen came back to Novac without Law, and was just interrogating them about the details.

Will took a bite out of his meat and said, "If you knew what we saw you'd understand, that kid needs to wise the fuck up"

Manny had just came into the room and wasn't aware that he was about to get dragged in to the arguement.

Casey pointed to him and yelled, "Yeah, well he does it only because this asshole won't tell him what he needs to know!"

Manny put up his hands and asked, "Hey hey, why am I the asshole?"

"Because...you blackmailed some kid so that you didn't have to do any dirty work" Casey said as she got in his face.

Manny face darkened and he quietly said, "Listen bitch, he didn't have to do it. I gave him the option, he took it"

Pen spoke up and said, "You shouldn't coddle him so much, it's not doing him any favors"

"And how the fuck would you know what's best for him?" Casey yelled as she threw an rusty can at Pen.

As Pen knocked it away Manny turned the attention back to him, "Don't yell at him for being RIGHT. Oh and by the way...what makes you the expert on what's best for him. You're just a failed medic drug dealer"

"I may be just a fake medic drug dealer" Casey repeated as she turned to Manny, "But he was the one that saved me from imprisonment and who knows what else...so it makes me the one that actually gives a fuck"

The two looked like the were about to start swinging, but their staredown was broken as they heard a woman outside screaming.

Everyone rushed out and quickly saw the woman up the road kneeling down and holding someone in her arms. She was sobbing and when Will came up and saw who she was holding he slurred a collection of fuck words.

Casey's eyes started to get misty as she approached the woman and saw that she was holding Law in her arms. His face was pale with some dried blood on his chin, and his arm was still wrapped around all of the glass.

"Law" she said weakly, and her legs started to wobble.

He looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open so Will and Manny lifted him up while Pen consoled the women. Will and Manny hauled Law into a small building and Casey ran in after them.

Law's eyes fluttered open and when his vision focused he became aware of his white surroundings. He was lying down but at an angle with clear white plastic around him. He wasn't scared, in fact he felt a bit fuzzy, but he started to tap on the wall. A couple taps turned into knocks and the wall hissed before splitting down the middle and sliding open.

Law saw Casey standing in front of the machine with her hands together, pressed against her chest. She was smiling but at the same time trying not to burst into tears.

"Law?" She asked. He blinked a couple of times and stumbled forward. "How're you feeling?"

He looked around to see the barren grey room and said, "I...I feel existent".

He gave her a strange matter-of-fact face and she started to giggle as she grabbed his arm. "Let's just walk it off"

The two of them left the room and started to walk towards town. Casey was trying to hold Law up while he looked out at the sun. He was trying to figure out if it was the morning or if the sun was just setting.

After some silence Casey asked, "So Law..what happened to you?"

Law thought about it for a bit and he said, "I got the stuff..at least I had it. Then the demon was behind me. Next thing I knew I was against the wall and it was running away screaming"

Casey wasn't sure if it was the drugs, if he was telling the truth, or both, but she said, "Oh wow, must have been something"

Law stopped and his eyes got wide.

"What's wrong?" Casey asked. There was a chance that the auto-doc didn't give him enough recovery time and he was starting to literally fall apart. It was a mistake that she had seen back in the NCR, a doctor watched a man's arm fall off in front of him.

Law turned slightly and started to fumble with his pants. In one swift motion he pulled down his pants and underwear and let loose a stream of piss onto the ground. He tilted his head back and groaned in pleasure as Casey tried to turn away.

Curiosity got the best of her though as she peaked over to see what Law was dealing with. _Pretty impressive kid_ she thought to herself.

He pulled himself together and apologized but Casey shook her head and said, "It's alright, you've been holding in the by product of those chemicals for about twenty seven hours"

Law leaned up against a house and ran his fingers through his hair. "So you're saying that we are now a day behind the guy that shot me?"

Casey looked down and said, "Your shoulder was shattered and had to be operated on. Plus you had glass in your side that almost lacerated your liver". She leaned up next to him and said, "You're lucky you aren't more hurt"

"I can't believe that I made it back here" Law said to her.

She smiled a bit and said, "You're tough...plus the tubes that broke into you had morphine and psycho in them"

Law looked at her confused and she said, "It knocked you out and kept you going at the same time"

Law slinked down to the ground and asked, "So did I recover anything useful?"

"Actually despite the broken glass you actually gave me an intact ambelic and some other good stuff, we already fixed someone before you and now they'll be able to get most of the people back on their feet" Casey explained.

"That's lucky...so is Manny going to tell me where the fuck our guy is?" Law asked.

"Yeah" Casey said quietly. "but are you sure you don't want to rest a bit more?"

Law groaned as he got up, his side was sore and if he turned a sharp pain shot across his abdomin. He lifted up the shirt they put on him and saw the stitching left by the machine.

"No, we should go find out where he is and plan our next move" Law answered. The drugs were wearing off and he was already heading towards the dino. Casey sighed and wearily followed after him.

Once they got back to the sniper's nest Manny turned around and said, "Law...it's good to see you're up and around"

Law said, "I believe you need to tell me where the man in the checkered suit went"

It took Law getting seriously hurt for Manny to realize that he felt guilty for sending Law out there, so he was more than willing to help him out.

"Yeah, I heard him say that the group needed to head to Boulder City" Manny replied. Law held out his Pip-Boy and Manny entered the location.

Without saying anything Law turned around to leave but Manny stopped him. "So uh, I think it would be reasonable to send you out with a couple of caps, seeing as how we used up almost of your chemicals" Manny said.

Two things were obvious to Law, Manny was uncomfortable and he was lying about why Law should get the caps.

The sort of 'fuck you I'm badass' attitude that he could have given Manny to make a statement was not in Law's capacity at that point. He simply shrugged and said, "Couldn't hurt..thanks"

Casey went to the store to buy them more supplies, and while she was away Ada came to check up on Law.

"So how's the new shoulder feeling?" Ada asked.

"New shoulder?" Law replied. Ada took Law's left arm and started rotating it to check it's flexibility.

"Yeah the auto-doc evaluated your shoulder injury and decided it would be easier to take out the bones and some of the muscle ligaments and replace them" She explained.

Law tugged his arm away and started to feel his shoulder, which felt tougher than he remembered. "So some machine just decided to take out my shoulder?" He asked with an irritated tone.

Ada swung her fist into Law's shoulder, which suprisingly didn't feel as bad as it should. As he prodded the spot she said, "You might want to count it as a blessing, not everybody gets a new synthetic installed into them. What's more is that the synthetic is just as hard as bone but it's more flexible and shock absorbant. The computer only gave it to you because it must have evaluated that you would be in need of a shoulder that could withstand that force again"

Law was massaging the spot and gave an approving look in response.

Ada continued to examine him and asked, "So Law, I know that you need to find that guy that shot you...but don't you think that you should take it easy a bit?"

"The more I wait, the farther he'll get from me. That seems to be the pattern at least" Law replied.

"Well you still have a pretty serious injury, like the one on your side. Plus you two must be tired..." Ada said.

"My headaches have gone away for a bit and my side doesn't hurt that bad" Law said, missing Ada's point.

Ada started rubbing some salve on Law's stitches and said, "You know Law, I know that you have to find this guy..but you really should take a step back and see something other than your revenge."

Law looked down at her and she continued, "You had yourself a nice little nap in the auto-doc, but Casey never left the room when you were in surgery. I bet she's exhausted and you just want to go racing out of town without a second thought"

Law's face started to get red as he realized how selfish he had been lately. You could argue that it started with him demanding that Will and Pen help him at RepConn, but he felt the worse about Casey.

"So I guess I should say thank you" Law said.

Ada shrugged and said, "I don't know about that, Casey always prided herself on giving off this tough and detached persona."

Ada let Law put on his shirt and she said, "Anyway, keep this in your mind. She usually hates being dependent on people, she likes to be the one that people rely on. That being said she isn't invincible, and needs rest too"

Law was embarrassed that he had been so selfish about what he was doing. Sure Casey was the one that invited herself but she had saved Law already, and wasn't a bad companion either.

Casey caught up to Law and Ada to say, "We still have a bit of sunlight left and Boulder City isn't too far away. We can make it over there in a couple hours and go from there"

Law was just now seeing the dark circles around Casey's eyes and the slight frown on her face. People can get caught up and self absorbed, but Law was about to break the habit, if only for a bit.

"Yeah that's good news, we can get there at a decent time if we leave in the morning" Law told her.

Casey looked surprised and asked, "The morning, I thought you wanted to leave?"

"Honestly I need the rest" Law said, which was a lie. "Doctor tells me that a night with the salve on will help the wound close better and I am exhausted"

It didn't take much to convince Casey, and she said, "Alright, have it your way. I'll check us out a room"

Law followed Casey, missing the approving smile that Ada had on her face. She was just looking out for her little sister, and it wouldn't hurt for Law to develop some better social skills.

The rooms were cheap and neither of them felt like eating so they decided to get started on their rest. Law conceded the bed to Casey before he undressed and made himself comfortable on the scratchy old couch.

Law was quick to sleep but something kept Casey up a bit before going to sleep. Something was on her mind, but sleep was a first priority...

**A/N I'm back**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 ****Don't Fear the Reaper**

"Can't I convince you otherwise?" Ada asked as she drank from a waterbottle.

"No, not really" Casey said as she looked around, "At least not here"

"Hey!" Ada replied, hurt by the comment. "It may not be lavish but it's home".

Casey was unimpressed by Ada's weak attempts to try and get her to stay in Novac. Law was still asleep so Casey packed all of the gear and sat with her sister in the cafeteria.

"Look, I know that you want stick with this kid but I don't see what the allure is of hunting some guy with an amnesiatic kid." Ada told her.

Casey countered with, "Because it gives me purpose, it's really exciting, and Law isn't really a kid. He's a big boy.."

Casey swiped Ada's water bottle while Ada gave her a typical family member look. "Casey...please don't tell me"

Casey smiled after she took a drink and said, "What? He's not bad to look at, and I needed a better fuck than the last bodyguard I had"

"Yeah he is a looker...but Casey he's so young" Ada whined.

"I said fuck, not love. And don't get condescending with me, I know the reason Pen sticks around without pay is that you're probably _polishing_ _his rifle_" Casey with a smirk.

"Hey...Pen is a great bodyguard and he understands that money is tight right now" Ada replied. "Anyway, it doesn't seem fair. The young ones usually can't tell the difference between the occasional stress release and commitment"

"Well who better to learn with?" Casey said with a shrug. Ada glared at her but Casey quickly whispered, "Law's coming, shut up"

She flashed Law a small smile as he approached and he asked, "Sorry I slept in so late, but are you ready to go?"

"Just like that, aren't you hungry?" Casey asked.

Law shook his head and said, "No not hungry, and if it's alright with you we should get moving".

"Sure" Casey replied. She got up and Ada mimicked so that they could hug each other.

After the embrace Ada said, "Take care of yourself" and Casey nodded.

Law and Casey made their way out of town and started to head up the highway. Law kept checking his Pip-Boy to make sure that they were on the right path. The Pip-Boy let them know that they had about seven more miles until they would be at Boulder City.

As they were walking down the road Law decided to strike up some conversation with, "So...what made you want to start making drugs?"

Casey sighed and said, "Would you...mind not calling me a drug dealer?"

Law replied with, "Actually I didn't call you that, but if it's a sore subject then we can talk about something else"

Casey realized her mistake and said, "No sorry, it's just I get insecure sometimes. It's against the law in the NCR and I've gotten in trouble a couple of times. Some of the people I met back home used to look down on me"

"Why's it illegal in the NCR?" Law asked.

"Well it's addictive, and plus the government makes more money when they sell it as opposed to us" Casey explained, "They put more regulations on it as well"

"Interesting, so any good stories?" Law asked. He was intrigued about Casey's life as a drug 'maker' and he wanted to know more.

"Not really good stories...I guess I could tell you about the lab explosions" Casey offered. Law nodded excitedly.

She took a deep breathe and told him, "Well another reason why what I do is illegal is because sometimes the chemicals get volitile if you aren't careful. We brought in a dumbass that lied about his experience with chemicals and he melted half of his face. We weren't the only ones who heard the screams and a trooper came to investigate..."

Law was enthralled with Casey's story as she continued, "He forced himself through and when he found the lab he called in his radio for reinforcements. Well my partner at the time took care of him quickly but we heard more troops surrounding our building.."

Casey stopped a bit for dramatic reasons and Law ground his teeth, "And then what?"

Casey fought back a smile and told him, "I mixed up my little recipe for a distraction." Casey bit her lip and said, "I put a little too much glycerin into the mixture though and ended up taking down the building when we escaped...and a couple soldiers."

Law chuckled and asked, "So I'm guessing that's where Collateral Casey came from?"

Casey didn't answer so Law said, "That's a cool story, I didn't know you knew so much...and that you're dangerous"

Casey turned to him with an eyebrow raised but Law just smiled without returning eye contact. "Yeah well it's an embarrassing part of my past and it would be nice if we didn't talk about it a lot" Casey told him.

Law shrugged and said, "Fair enough". They had already turned a bit east off the highway exit and the view of Boulder City was starting to appear.

When the two got closer Law looked out to all of the broken walls and ruined buildings. It didn't even look like a city, more of a collection of what used to be a city.

"Why is it called Boulder City...and why would my murderer come here?" Law asked quietly.

"I don't know, but check that out" Casey said pointing to a group of men.

They walked over and Law recognized the men as NCR troopers. He wasn't excited to talk to them after what happened in Primm, but he decided to see what was up.

"Hey fellas" Law greeted them with, "Is this Boulder City?"

The troopers looked at each other and the one with the beret said, "I am Leuitenant Monroe, what is your business here?"

_Great, more NCR bossy bullshit _Law thought to himself. He put an a fake attitude and said, "Well I was looking for a guy in a checkered coat that might have come through with some Khans. Know anything about it?"

The look on Monroe's face got serious and he said, "Yeah, those Khans are the same ones that have been holed up in the city ruins for two days with NCR hostages"

Law heard the clickings of rounds entering gun chambers as Monroe followed up with, "And why do you need to see them?".

Law casually looked behind him and said, "They captured and tried to kill me...I just wanted to pay a visit to the suit guy and show him my appreciation".

Monroe spit on the ground and said, "That'll have to wait, things are tense and I'm waiting for word from McCarran"

Law kicked the ground a bit and said, "I really...really need to find that guy. Would you mind letting me in?"

Monroe chuckled a bit. Law knew it was a longshot but he always asked, if you don't ask the answer is always no. "I'm not about to let some kid go in there and get shot, or worse let you piss them off and they off the hostages" Was the answer.

There it was again, 'some kid'. Everytime Law heard it he mentally winced, and he always took it as a challenge. Maybe it was that he didn't like being instantly written off, or more likely he just wanted to contradict their opinion.

"How about I talk to them and see if I can't get the hostages out?" He asked.

"Who the fuck is this kid?" Monroe grumbled to a soldier behind him. He asked Law, "Why do you think you can get them to release the hostages?"

Law shrugged and said, "They might be caught off guard seeing me as they think I'm dead. That type of scare might make them negotiate irrationally in our favor"

Monroe was mulling over Law's propostion, doing well not to show any indiction of what he was thinking. After a bit he stepped towards the wall made up of rusted metal sheets and road signs.

He kicked open what was supposed to be a door, and while it swung open he said, "Give it a shot kid"

Before Law entered the city he turned to Casey and said, "I don't expect you to put yourself into the middle of this. I won't hold it against you if you want to stay put while I go in"

Casey looked at him for a bit, knowing what she wanted to do. She could have been insulted by him suggesting that she would want to sit it out, but she was more pleased by him showing some concern.

On her way to the door she grabbed his arm and pulled him with her. "We've gotten this far, I'm not leaving you now". Law gave her a curt nod and the two entered Boulder City.

There were mountains of rubble that provided refuge for many soldiers that had their weapons steadily trained on one location. Law looked over to where they were keeping watch, which was a building that looked fairly intact compared to it's surroundings.

Law and Casey made their way towards the building, hopeful that the soldiers wouldn't mind their presence. The soldiers never budged, fearful that if their attention was divided that their comrades wouldn't make it.

Law raised up his arms to signify that he was not a threat, and kept them up despite the pain in his side. After passing the troops Law slowed his steps, and came to a complete halt when he heard a gunshot.

Law heard a flurry of clicks from the troops behind them, loading their rifles. Someone yelled, "BACK THE FUCK UP" but Law stood his ground.

Law yelled back, "IM NOT A THREAT. IM HERE TO NEGOTIATE"

There was a silence and Law looked around at the building. He spotted a man in a leather jacket and bandanna peaking out from the building. The man furiously motioned for Law to approach before he whipped out of view.

Law lowered his arms and Casey took hold of his right one. She was clinging to him tightly as he continued the slow pace that lead him to the wooden door. He opened it and walked through towards the group of four behind the counter.

They were dressed the same as the first man, all had black leather jackets and matching dirty bandannas. There were three men and one woman, all having strange hair-do's that stood almost straight up.

Law focused on the one in the middle and the room went dark as his head felt like it was going to split. The room turned into the same spot where Law's hands were bound and he was stairing at the man who shot him. The man next to him was the one Law had just seen, urging the checkered coat man to hurry up.

Law snapped back to the present and the man now had a different expression from the one on that night.

His face was getting pale and the people around him started to tense up. Law was glaring at the man, his anger stemming from the pain in his head and one of the sources in front of him.

"You...you're supposed to be dead. A fuckin' saw you get shot in the head" the Khan said with a shaky voice. "How the fuck are you even here?" He asked, "You were supposed to be DEAD!".

The khan started to shake a bit while Law continued his glare. Law licked his lips and said, "You didn't bury me deep enough".

A chill ran through every spine in the room except for Law's and the Khan raised a pistol. The gun was shaking in his hand as beads of sweat ran down the Khan's brow.

One of the Khan's said in a panicked voice, "We all know you can't kill a ghost Jessup. Put the pistol down before you piss it off!"

_Ghost?_ Law thought to himself. He wasn't aware that the Khans were still primitive and superstitious enough to think that Law was some sort of supernatural being.

Jessup lowered his gun and he quietly asked, "...Are you..here to kill us?"

Law softened his glare and answered, "I am here because I want to see the man in the checkered coat. Bring him out here"

Jessup was now less scared and more angry as he replied, "Yeah..I would but that snake Benny double crossed us and left us here when we were ambushed"

"His name is Benny?" Law asked. "How could you let him get away?"

"Hey hey, that guy is as slippery as it gets. He snuck out at night and when we woke up the NCR surrounded us. That's when we took the messengers as hostages and now we're in this shit-kick situation" Jessup told him.

"Where's Benny now?" Law demanded.

Jessup eye'd Law a bit and sighed, "He high tailed it back to Vegas. Probably laughing like a little girl"

Law looked to Casey in confusion, and she tried to conceal her excitement. Giving her another look of further confusion she explained, "I know it's inappropriate...but we get to go to Vegas" She squeeled a bit in excitement and Law rolled his eyes.

"Tell me about him" Law told Jessup.

"He is one of the members of the families, who runs the Tops casino. He contracted us to capture so he could find the platinum chip"

"Is that what I was carrying, what is it?" Law asked him immediately.

Jessup shook his head and said, "I don't know, I just know it was why he wanted to catch you"

Law looked at Casey and asked, "You know where Vegas is?" She nodded and he told her, "Then it's just another reason why I'm glad you're here"

Law looked at Jessup and said, "Now about those hostages"

"Save your breath, we can't go no where without them" Jessup told him.

Law resumed his glare and said, "Like it or not the NCR is out there and if you decide to do something stupid then you'll get ended"

Jessup looked back to the other Khans and said, "Well it's a no win situation, so we might as well go out like real Khans...guns blazin'!"

That statement was met by cheers and the sounds of guns being loaded.

Law shook his head and said, "No! if you release the hostages I'm sure that the NCR will let you walk out and live to fight another die"

"Ha!" Jessup barked, "The NCR isn't as innocent as you think kid. Just ask the survivors of the bitter springs massacre. O wait...there are none!"

"Don't fucking call me kid asshole, do as I say and you can get out of here. Or you can all take a hot lead shower...Your move Jessup" Law snarled.

Jessup paused and looked back at his comrads. Despite the bravado, he could tell they were scared and uneasy about facing the NCR.

He looked back to Law and he said, "Alright ki-..uh man, we'll let them go...". Jessup nodded to a Khan and she disappeared from the room.

"I'll make sure you all can leave safely, just wait till you see the NCR back down" Law told him.

Jessup nodded but before Law and Casey left he called to him, "Hey wait!". Law turned and Jessup threw a lighter at him. Law caught it and Jessup said, "That's Benny's, do me a favor and jam it up his ass when you find him and say 'from Jessup'.."

Law didn't say anything or nod, he just left the building to see two NCR soldiers running for their life towards the others. They disappeared from view while Casey and Law made their way back to Monroe.

When they passed through the door Monroe was right there offering his hand to Law. "Damn kid, I don't know how you did it, but you have a lot of people's gratitude"

Law shook his hand and said, "Happy to do it, unfortunately my guy isn't here but I know where he is so I'll be on my way once I see the Khans leave"

Monroe looked at one of his troops uneasily and then told Law, "That'll be a problem. McCarran radioed in telling us to take them out, compromise or not"

Law was starting to catch Jessup's drift about the NCR, but he didn't care what type of orders they got. "I told them that if they released the prisoners that you'd let them go" He explained.

"My hands are tied kid" Monroe told him.

"No they aren't. They may have taken hostages but you got them back and nobody is hurt. It's your call, but be comfortable with the one you make" Law told Monroe.

Monroe was in a bit of a tight position, and he saw the Khans up close to the stationed troops. The troops had their guns on the Khans but the Khans had there arms up, one looking directly at Monroe.

Monroe looked down for a bit but then let out a loud whistle that commanded the attention of the troops. He gave them a motion with his arms and they started to pull their rifles back against their chests.

The Khans slowly walked out of the city and Jessup asked them to wait for a bit while he talked to Law.

"Thanks for helping us out, we won't forget this" Jessup said.

He offered his hand but Law said, "I wouldn't thank me Jessup, because I may have saved you here...but I'm going to kill you later". Jessup's fingers curled back as Law continued, "You captured and buried me. I won't kill you now of course, probably won't kill you in a week...but I will come back for you and do what you tried to do to me"

There wasn't a smart mouth come back from Jessup because not only did Law just save him and his group, it was because Jessup knew that Law had every right to try and kill him.

"Can I at least know the name of my reaper?" Jessup asked.

In a low voice he replied, "Law"

Jessup nodded and said, "Catch you around Law". With that he turned back to his group and the started walking themselves back west. Jessup silently respected Law telling him the reality of his intentions. It was more than just badass, it was honorable, seeing as how Law could just have found him later and done him in silently. There was no doubt that Jessup would return to Red Rock Canyon and tell his clan of Law, and the respect would then spread.

Law looked at Casey who had faithfully clung to his arm and asked, "So tell me about Vegas"

She smiled and said, "We can talk about that later Mr. Cool Guy, I'm feeling pretty heated right now"

Law didn't realize that Casey got hot and bothered from Law's stand off nature, and she was aching for the 'fuck' that she had told Ada about.

"You're right, it is hot out. I wonder if they have a place where we can get something cool to drink?" Law mused.

Two soldiers with ragged faces approached Law, and he recognized them as the hostages. One was a male with black hair and the other was a blond female.

"Sir, I am Pvt. Cayon. I would personally like to thank you for rescuing me and Pvt. Mercilis. If you want something cold I would be honored to buy you a beer"

"Could you actually point us towards a bed?" Casey asked.

Much to her chagrin, her seductive hints were lost on Law as he said, "I don't mind staying over night but we can worry about that later, I think I've earned a beer"

Pvt Cayon smiled and lead Law over to the mobile food station where they got some beers and sat down on the benches with the other soldiers.

"So if you are looking for a place to sleep..we aren't leaving until tomorrow...and we have extra sleep rolls. You are more than welcome to bunk with one of us" Pvt Mercilis said, sharing Casey's lust for her savior.

Casey quickly asked, "Actually we should try to get started on our trip, if only for a bit. Is there any place to shack up along the road to Vegas?"

"Actually there is a place called trading post 188 that might have a place to hole up. There is a group of merchants that look out for each other and will probably do the same for you if you buy from them" Pvt Cayon told them.

"Perfect!" Casey said, "We should probably get going again". She stood up and waited for Law to do the same.

He looked at the brown beer bottle for a bit and said, "Yeah, you're right." He got up and shook the Pvt's hands. "Thanks for the beer, but we gotta head out"

Cayon stood up and saluted and said, "Thank you again Law".

Law gave a half-hearted salute and Pvt Mercilis looked down at her bottle and said, "See you again hopefully"

Law waved as he and Casey headed towards the highway again, more walking and another destination.

"So tell me about Vegas" Law said to Casey.

Casey smiled and said, "I heard about it back in the NCR. Apparently it was untouched by the nuclear warheads and it's full of bright lights and good times. You can gamble and stay up late, fufill all of your guilty pleasures. I suggest that after you're done with your business, we enjoy our time there"

Law and Casey talked about Vegas for a couple hours on the road. Casey explained gambling to him and prostitution, along with what she knew about who ran Vegas.

She told him that it was one of the Mojave treasures along with the Hoover Dam, which could have been another couple hours of conversation if they weren't upon Trading Post 188.

It was a collection of stands and old world trucks filled with stocks. Beneath the overpass there was a large brown tent and a couple of shacks. The two of them approached the back of a truck that had a stand in front of it and a canvas that was shielding the merchant from the sun.

"Greetings friends, I'm Phil. How can I help you?" The merchant greeted them with.

"Hey Phil, I'm Law and this is Casey. I was wondering if we might crash here over night. We're on our way to Vegas but we'd rather not travel at night" Law explained.

Phil rubbed his chin and said, "You know I would, be stuff like that isn't free. This is a trading post"

Law smiled and took out his two nine millimeters, then placed them on the counter. "Let's do some business then"

With the help of Casey, Law made out pretty well at the post. He had gotten rid of his two guns but in turn got himself a small knife and a shotgun that Phil hadn't been able to sell.

The two only had to shell out ten caps to the community pot for the right to stay in one of the shacks, but first they went to a small cantina for food.

They ordered their food and Law noticed a woman with a brown shall over her. She noticed Law looking at her and gave a little wave.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare, just was curious about the shall" Law told her. "I'm Law, and this is Casey"

"Hi, I'm Veronica" She replied.

Law felt a pressure in his stomach and he said, "I hate to say hi and bolt, but I need to talk care of something"

He jumped up and went to find a bathroom as Casey snickered and started in on her dinner. Veronica shift a bit in her seat and asked, "So what brings you to the post?"

"Oh Law and I needed a place to stay before heading out to Vegas" Casey answered.

Veronica gave Casey a coy little smile and asked, "And what's a pretty girl like you going to Vegas for?"

Casey knew flirting when she saw it, and lesbians were a bit rare in the NCR. She was caught a bit off guard but she innocently said, "Oh just a little bit of this and a little bit of that"

"A little bit of this and that can be fun...if you find the right person" Veronica replied, then took a little sip of her soda.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered...but I have a specific type of person for the 'this and that'. Not sure if I want to deviate from it" Casey told her.

Veronica shrugged and said, "If you aren't sure then I wouldn't mind showing you what you're missing. I'm not going to tell you that I'm not the type to go at it on the first day but when something this pretty comes my way, I wanna leave my mark before she leaves."

Casey got a little red and asked, "What if I already have a mark?"

Veronica stood up, approached her, and carassed the side of Casey's cheek before saying, "We both know you haven't been 'marked' in awhile. So I suggest you find someone to do it before you do someone you might regret".

Veronica sat back down on her stool and added, "Like me" with a wink. Law was coming back and when he sat down Casey did her best not to look so flustered. The lustful feelings from Law's Boulder City showdown had not left her yet and now she was being filled with strange fillings from being hit on by what she felt was actually a pretty attractive female.

"What'd I miss?" Law asked as he sat down with a innocent and oblivious smile.

"I'm tired. Let's go find our shack and hit the hay" Casey said quickly.

"Oh...okay. Phil said there was an open shack over in that direction next to the highway sign" Law told her.

"Oh, thats next to my shack" Veronica said cheerily. "Don't be afraid to knock on my door if you need anything".

Casey's face started to turn red again and she quickly said, "Thanks" as she started to speed walk away from the cantina.

The sun had just about set so Law didn't mind going to sleep, but he couldn't figure out what was up with Casey. He caught up to her just as she opened the door and he asked, "Hey, what's the matter?".

"Oh it's nothing" Casey lied, hiding her intentions. She was like a yao guai, waiting for the perfect moment for her prey to let it's guard down.

"Whatever" Law said, as he started to undress down to his boxers.

His back was to Casey and he looked around the room as she started to undress.

"Hey there is only one bed here and no couch" Law muttered. He turned around and was shocked to see Casey in front of him, wearing only panties.

"Perfect" Casey said seductively as she approached Law.

Law stumbled back from her advances and hit the edge of the bed. "Casey what're you." He tried to say but she stopped his lips with hers.

"You don't think you were going to get away with all of that tough guy talk and heroics without paying for it did you?" She asked him as she curled her fingers around the waistband of her boxers.

Law tried to stammer an answer but he was pushed onto the bed and Casey crawled over him until she was resting comfortably on top of him.

"You deserved more than a beer back there...so just let it happen" She said quietly.

Veronica was in her shack getting ready to head to bed herself. She had just turned off her radio and was about to slip into the covers when she heard some noises outside. She went to the edge of her door and pressed her ear to try and listen.

Her ears picked up some faint moans of pleasure coming from the shack next to her, which were interrupted by short shouts of ecstasy. Veronica smiled and walked back to her bed to slip under the covers.

She got herself comfortable and when she closed her eyes she said to herself, "Atta girl"...

**A/N I felt it was time to get a bit more adult in the story. Should have another chapter in a week or two unless I get reviews.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 Revelations**

Casey woke up to see Law fiddling around with the blanket that was covering the both of them. He started to rip the blanket while Casey rubbed her eyes to make sure of what she was seeing.

"What're you doing Law?" She asked.

Law looked over a bit embarrassed and said, "When we uh...went at it last night my stitches opened a bit. I bled on the sheet"

Casey smiled a bit, half proud of what happened. She stretched out her arms and put on some clothes while Law finished working the tear around the stain.

Casey watched Law get dressed as she sat on the bed and said, "So Law, we should talk about last night"

Law was folding the blanket when she said this and when he was finished he sat down next to her. "Alright, let's talk then"

Casey was having trouble finding the words to match what she wanted to say, and it wasn't helping that Law was looking right at her. She looked away and explained, "I got really worked up yesterday and couldn't help letting it out..."

Law nodded, waiting for her to say something else causing a bit of awkwardness. Law spoke up asking, "So that's all it was, a way for you to let it out?"

There wasn't much inflection in his voice but Casey thought that he sounded hurt. "I'm sorry Law, I don't want you to think of it like that it's just...I needed it"

Law thought for a bit and then asked, "So you used me?". Casey nodded and Law grinned. "Alright good"

Casey looked at him and said, "Wait what?"

Law shrugged and said, "I was worried that you liked me or something, which would have sucked because I'm focused on getting to Vegas"

Casey herself was slightly relieved but she said, "Wait, if you thought I wanted to be a couple and you didn't want that...why didn't you stop us from having sex?"

Law knew Casey wanted to act like she was upset but he countered with, "Oh like I had a choice in the matter. You were on me as soon as we got in the shack, and I couldn't have stopped you if I tried!"

Casey smiled, confidence boosted by what she took as a compliment and said, "Let's go get some breakfast"

The two went back to the center of the trading post to get some food before they took off for Vegas. According to Casey the two of them had one more day before they hit the big city.

While they were eating, a slightly familiar face made her way to where they were eating and sat down.

"Good morning Veronica" Law greeted her with. "Did you sleep well?"

Veronica couldn't resist an opportunity to give a light ribbing so she answered, "Yeah, I had a bit of trouble falling asleep though. There was something moaning last night...I don't know if you two are superstitious but it could have been a ghost"

Law's face immediately got red and he tried to hide the embarrassment, but Casey took the challenge head on.

"Well ghost usually can't move on because they have unfinished business. But I bet that ghost found what it was looking for last night, and is extreeeeeemly satisfied" Casey countered with a devilish grin.

Law's embarrassment was increasing exponentially as the two were getting ready to spar verbally, armed with innuendo.

"Oh I hope so, it seemed like it took the ghost a long time to get satisfied. I wonder if it would have found what it was looking for faster if it looked somewhere else" Veronica mused.

"Oh I think the ghost was just trying to take it's time and was enjoying every second of it" Casey said leaning forward.

Law buried his head into his hands and started to rub his face. Veronica tried to fire off another sentence but Law interrupted by exclaiming, "OK! So I think that we are done eating and should be on our way"

The girls giggled and Veronica asked, "You are headed to Vegas right?"

Law nodded and she twirled her hair with her index finger. "Vegas sounds fun, I have business that I need to get to someday but uh, hadn't had the chance"

Veronica looked down at her soda bottle and started tapping her finger on it. Law looked over at Casey, pointing at Veronica and shrugging his shoulders as if to ask if she should come along. Casey swayed a bit and gave an expression of uncertainty but Law made up his mind.

"Well then come along with us, we can at least get you to Vegas and then you can go from there" Law told her.

Law didn't understand that there would be some awkwardness since Veronica had expressed her attraction to Casey. Casey silently swore to herself when Veronica's face lit up and she said, "Yeah sure that'd be awesome. Just give me a little time to pack and I'll be ready to go"

She downed the rest of her soda and raced back to her shack. Casey turned to Law and asked, "Really?"

Law shrugged and said, "Another person watching our back wouldn't hurt, besides she doesn't need to know why we're going to Vegas"

Casey dug the tip of her shoe in the ground and started to kick the dirt, thinking about whether or not she wanted to fight the decision a bit more. She sighed and said, "You're the boss, and you make the decisions"

Law wanted to practice listening to Casey more and taking her into account, but he had a feeling that they hadn't ran into enough trouble lately, despite his run in at RepConn.

Veronica returned with a bag of her own and lead the two to the exit that would take them back to the highway.

"So what's in Vegas for you two?" Veronica asked.

Casey shot a look at Law, taking advantage of the opportunity to prove him wrong. He gave her a dismissive look and answered, "We have a business meeting that's awaiting us there"

Veronica wasn't satisfied, "Oh what kind of business?"

"Casey works with medicine and she decided to hire me so we could get to Vegas" Law explained, trying to sell a reasonable excuse.

Veronica looked surprised and said, "Oh, you are employed to Casey. but uh"

"It's a loose employment, he basically just looks after me and we stick together" Casey explained.

"Oh" Veronica asked. Something seemed off to her, between them trying to tell her that they had a loose relationship yet having sex last night. Veronica concluded it was the heat of the moment hopefully, because she was still aiming to get Casey's favor... or at least into her pants.

"So where are you two from?" Veronica asked.

"You sure do ask a lot of questions girl" Casey commented.

"I didn't mean to be nosey...just a long walk" Veronica replied.

Law frowned at Casey and she said, "No no, you're right. I ran away from the NCR so that's why I'm a little bit touchy about it"

"Ahhhh I see, and you Law?" Veronica asked.

Casey dreaded what Law was going to come up but was partially comforted when he answered, "Don't take this the wrong way, but we don't really know each other enough for me to tell you"

"Hey, no offense taken. I actually shouldn't be asking" Veronica told him.

"I don't mind you asking me things, but some stuff I won't answer just yet" Law told her.

"Well that's good to know...but I don't want to make you suspect.." Veronica said before she hesitated. They all slowed down while Law and Casey curiously looked at her. "I don't really feel comfortable telling you guys where I'm from yet either"

They picked pace back up and Casey said, "You know we didn't really ask"

"Casey, come on that was rude" Law chastised.

"No I mean that she didn't have to let us know she was uncomfortable, she could have let it be or lied" Casey explained.

"Yech, I hate lying. I'd rather be truthful with you guys and be embarrassed or whatever" Veronica told them.

Law smiled and said, "I haven't met anyone like that. It's pretty refreshing". It was the truth though, since his awakening in Goodsprings he hadn't felt like he had met a lot of people full of character, except Casey.

"Thank you Law, at least somebody appreciates it" Veronica told him.

"No problem, truth is I'm having a bit of an identity problem right now and I like the sound of telling the truth more often" Law told her.

"Identity problem, what you're only eighteen or something?" Veronica asked.

"I guess.." Law started. He had dug himself in a bit of a hole and Casey could sense he was having a bit of trouble thinking of a way out.

She really couldn't think of anything to say but Law went with, "Well yeah somewhere around there, but don't worry about it"

"Ah come on Law, now's the time to start with the truth if you want to start at all" She told him.

"That's true, so I won't lie to you...I just won't tell you anything" Law said with a smile.

"I wonder what I can get you to tell me about now" Veronica wondered out loud.

"Me too" Casey chimed in. She knew he didn't have his memory but she could at least ask him about the stuff they'd been through so far.

"Oh I got one, did you really mean that you'd kill Jessup when you saw him next?" Casey asked. Immediately after she said it she realized it might have been a mistake.

"Ooooo who's Jessup, who's Jessup?" Veronica asked excitedly.

Law carefully thought about what he was going to say and answered, "Let's just say that Jessup is a Khan that has caused me trouble in the past. Can't really tell you what though.".

He turned to Casey and told her, "And yes, the next time I see him he'll die."

"So much mystery, no wonder Casey wanted it last night" Veronica said with an evil grin. "Which leads me to my next question Law, how was it?"

Casey smiled herself because she knew that Law was relatively innocent when it came to that sort of thing, and you could see his discomfort.

"Here's a great one, can we go six hours without talking about that?" Law quickly asked.

"Nope" Veronica said, then she and Casey burst into laughter as Law rolled his eyes.

When they were done with their laughing fit they both eye'd him for the answer to which he replied, "It was so great that it hurt in the morning"

Law smirked as Veronica gave Casey polite applause to which Casey did a small curtsy.

"And what did you think Casey?" Veronica followed up with.

Casey bit down on her lip a bit and said, "Best night that I've had in a long long time"

Veronica tilted her head a bit and asked, "Are you sure?"

Law was a bit thrown off and said, "What're you trying to say?"

Casey came to his defense, "Don't be insecure Law, you rocked me. She is just fishing because she wishes she was in your position"

Law took only a couple seconds before he turned to Veronica and asked, "So you wanted to have sex with Casey?"

She looked at Casey seductively and said, "Oh you have no idea"

Casey rubbed her arm uncomfortably and Law said, "So you're into women then. That's cool I guess"

"Not everyone is, but I am not ashamed. I know what I like and I go after it" Veronica said matter-of-factly.

"So how did you come to liking women?" Law asked.

"Probably same reason you do Law, because they make me sexually aroused" Veronica said casually.

Law laughed at the mixture of humor and honesty, and he felt he made the right decision in bringing her along.

Before the three knew it, they were at another little rest stop on the highway. It was a small little shop with some old benches that looked rickity and a sign that read 'Grub n' Glup'.

"Do you two care to stop and get something to eat?" Law asked.

The girls looked at each other and Casey answered, "I could go for something". Veronica nodded in agreement so they sat down while Law ordered some food from the mangy looking owner.

The group was minding their own business and eating their food while another group stopped by. They were like Khans with their tattoos and unique haircuts but the clothes were tattered and scarce, like their weaponry.

They approached the owner and demanded food with no intention of paying. The man tried to stand his ground but when one flashed a knife he supposed his life was more valuable than the food he had to give up.

Law looked at Casey who noticed the commotion but she said, "Let it go, not worth the trouble"

That didn't seem to put Law's mind at ease when he stopped eating and watched the gang of people snatch the food from the disgruntled owner. Some tore at their food while the others wandered around the small encampment.

Unfortunately for Law and the group they were the only ones there, and the company of two women didn't escape the attention of some of the males.

Two men came behind Casey and one said, "Hey sweetheart...what say you ditch the dead weight and come with us for a couple days?"

Casey turned around and politely said, "Oh no thank you, I'd rather stay with my friends"

The man looked over to Veronica and Law then said, "Well Blondy is more than welcome to come with us". He smiled to reveal a couple teeth and said, "We Vipers have plenty of fun"

Another Viper approached Veronica from behind but she didn't pay him any attention. The men were waiting for an answer from Casey who looked at Law with some concern in her face. She looked back down at her bread and said, "We have plenty of fun by ourselves, but thanks for offering"

One of the Vipers took out a small knife and spun it around his fingers while he eyed Law. He smirked and said, "Can't imagine you having a lot of fun with faggot over here. Trust me, come with us an we'll show you a real good time".

Law was already irked that the Vipers had stolen the food, then he was irritated that they decided to pick on the group. Now he was trying not to break his silence and convey his anger towards the man after his choice words to him. Pretty soon it wouldn't have mattered if Casey didn't want trouble, because Law was going to start it.

Casey kept her cool and simply replied, "Looks can be deceiving. It was nice meeting you all but we would like to get back to our meal".

The two men laughed a bit but the one behind Veronica wasn't so amused. He decided to grab Veronica on the shoulder a bit roughly to show Casey that he wasn't as cordial as the others.

Law looked ready to jump up and confront him except Veronica dropped her bread and extended her hand to his leg, stopping his intention. She looked over at him and gave a weak smile to try and ease him.

Before anyone knew it, there was a hum in the air followed by a sharp electronic whine. Veronica's left hand swung underneath her right arm as she twisted her back. Law caught a glimpse of a large flat piece of metal connected to a strange glove fly past him and connect with the Viper's knee.

Upon contact, the thick flat metal sprang forward with blinding speed and the Viper's knee was pushed back with a sick crunch. The man's leg bent in the opposite direction of the usual and he spun a bit before he fell.

He clutched above his knee screaming loudly and writhing in pain as everyone except for Veronica looked in horror. Veronica stood up to reveal the weapon on her hand, a glove with a medium sized box on top. Coming out of the box was a long thick piece of shiny metal that bent in a ninety degree angle to cover Veronica's hand.

"It's possible he'll be crippled for life, but if you move fast you might be able to help" Veronica shouted over the man's screams. She had a merciless look in her eye that told the Viper's what would happen if anyone else opposed her.

At this point the entire gang was standing opposite while their companion still lay on the ground no longer screaming but whimpering loudly. Casey was paralyzed and didn't want to make a move since she was on the wrong side of the stand off. Law tried to mimic this action but was silently loading shells into his shotgun, ready to blow away the first gang member to make a move.

Some of the Viper's were glancing back to one in the middle who looked the least concerned but the angriest of them all. After some silence, the man said, "Fuck 'em, just leave him". He made his way out of the group and started walking the direction they came. The Vipers looked at each other a couple times but then scurried after their leader and left the injured man.

"Scum" Veronica whispered as she spat on the ground. She sat down and ate some more bread ignoring the man behind her.

Law and Casey sat silently for a bit, still stunned by what they saw from Veronica. "That was scary...but amazing" Law commented.

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like that" Casey said eyeing the glove on Veronica's hand.

Veronica held it up and rotated it on her wrist a couple times before saying, "It's a power glove if you didn't know. Packs a hell of a punch if you use it right"

Law grabbed the glove and looked it over to see all of the small details while it was still on Veronica's hand. "Where'd you get this?" Law asked.

Veronica pulled back the glove and covered it with her sleeve, "Someone gave it to me, and that's all I'll say".

Law and Casey nodded but they still had lots of questions that would have to remain unanswered.

The three of them finished their food and decided to be on their way. The group was silent during the next hour mostly because Casey and Law were still thinking about Veronica's powerfist.

Daylight was starting to dwindle, noticed by Casey when she said, "I think we made a mistake with how long it would take us to get to Vegas"

"Should we find a place to stay and travel the rest of the way tomorrow?" Law asked.

Casey shrugged and said, "It's really up to you but I don't mind staying over some place"

"Well how far do we have until we get there?" Law followed up with.

Casey and Veronica stopped and Casey pointed past Law, "See for yourself, they just turned on the lights"

Law looked in the direction that Casey was pointing and saw a large glow coming from the north that was set over tall buildings. Each building had it's own bright colors emanating from them, too far away to tell them apart but they were there.

"Amazing" Casey said gently and Law nodded in agreement. Veronica said nothing but peered north with them and respected the marvel of New Vegas.

After another minute the three kept walking down the highway, and along the way they found signs of increasing population. There was a house here and there, some burning barrels with a person or two around, and even crops.

In the distance Law spotted a building and decided that they should check it out. When they got closer they saw a sign that read 'Aerotech' and there were more people around the building.

Law approached one of the men and asked, "Hey, what is this place?"

The man had sunken eyes and extremely dirty clothes, he looked at Law and said, "What do you think?". He pointed his thumb to the sign and shook his head.

"Helpful" Law said under his breath. He went to another guy who was in a better shape and asked, "Hey man, what goes on here?"

"Oh this is an NCR refugee camp, not the best place but it provides a roof" He answered.

"Alright thank you" Law told him. He turned to the girls and asked, "Think they'd let us stay?"

At the same time a look of discomfort came across both Casey and Veronica's face and Law rolled his eyes. "Or how about we just set up our sleep rolls close to here?" He offered.

"Awww, you have him trained so well" Veronica told Casey.

"I know, it's so cute" Casey said smiling back at her.

Law didn't play into their games and started to scope out a place for them to stay. There was a ruined house that would provide some shade in the morning so he started laying everything out.

"Well I think it's time for me to get my rest, Law sleep well, Casey don't be afraid to slip into my roll with me" Veronica said with a grin.

"G'night Veronica" Law said and Casey just waved.

Casey retired soon after, leaving Law to tend to the small fire that he made. He stared at the fire and thought about what would happen once he was in Vegas. It hadn't really struck him until now that it would unlikely for him to just walk in, immediately find Benny, and be allowed to shoot him in his face.

Then what would happen after? Law would still be left clueless to where he was from. Was killing Benny the answer, or could Law figure out more about himself from Benny?

Questions plagued Law for the rest of the night, and kept him from sleeping until the dead of night when not even a nuclear survived cockroach moved. He tossed and turned in his sleeproll with visions of Benny, a grave with 'LAW' written on it, and mysterious people surrounding him...strange colors on their face and body.


End file.
